YuGiOh- DESCENDANTS!
by ShandyCandy278
Summary: Welcome to Japan, where an apocalyptic event led the country split into two- South and North Japan. North Japan is home to the rule-abiding citizens. South Japan is home to the law-breakers and misfits. And two teens, Joey Seth Kaiba from North Japan, and Mali Ishtar from South Japan, are going to start the change needed to make Japan whole again. GENDERBENDING!
1. Chapter 1

Shandy: Our little sister became OBSESSED with the movie Descendants-

Candy: So we decided to write this.

Shandy: We hope you enjoy the story-

Candy: And if you have any questions or ideas to suggest for the story (or Characters) are extremely welcome!

Shandy: Now, on with the story!

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You know, not everything ended the way they depicted it would in the show. No, no no, in real life everyone actually had a body. The author, Josephine Wheeler (surprise, right?) had decided to write about their journeys because of a challenge her friend Tristan had given her. Of course, she made some changes to make the story interesting. Like the character she related to most was turned into the guy, along with the main character (her best friend) and a few other characters to make it so that it would be more fun. The villains were also their enemies in real life, but they had different motives.

The Millennium Items DID exist, but it was only fabled that they held mystic powers. Yugi didn't solve her puzzle until the end, where she wished for Yami (Atem) to find his family. No one knows where any of the Millennium Items are today.

Anyway, the story really ended with Yami (Atem) discovering who he really was and FINALLY getting together with the love of his life. His discovery of being the long lost son of the richest family on earth and supporting all of his friends actually helped them to survive Japan's eventual apocalyptic crash. Seeing as they were the most influential at the time, they took all of those who would definitely do bad and locked them up behind a very large and very, VERY protected wall. Most of them were teens and newlyweds.

However, this story starts with a young man with dirty blonde hair and cobalt blue eyes staring in the direction of that very same wall, contemplating heavily on some subject in his thoughts.

"Sir-"

"I've already told you, call me by my name." The young man corrected.

"Yes, of course. Joey, your parents wish to speak to you." The man sighed and straightened himself off before leaving the room. As he walked down the halls of his mansion, he remembered just what he was about to suggest and swallowed nervously. He walked in and saw his father, Seto Kaiba, was dressed in a business suit while on the phone with someone. With the way his voice sounded, he was talking to Atem. His mother, Josephine, smiled at him and walked over to him. She, unlike his father, was dressed in a t-shirt and jeans.

"Joey! Ya look just like ya father did back in da day!" She commented, giving his hair a good ruffle.

"Mother!" He complained, desperately attempting to fix it.

"Oh, alright, alright, tell me what ya wanted ta talk about." She said casually in a way that made Joey feel comfortable about his choice.

"Well, I decided that we should give the innocents of Southern Japan a chance." Josephine blinked and his father almost choked into the phone, but saved himself just in time to start to quickly end the call. "Their parents might've done bad things, but their kids had nothing to do with it. I was going to invite at the most four of them to see if they would like to be good."

"All right." Josephine nodded, ignoring her husband's glare that was directed at her from over his shoulder. He was still on the phone. "And who would der parents be?"

"I was going to choose Pegasus, Atlantica, Ishtar, and…" he paused a little, preparing himself before he said the next name. "Bakura."

"Absolutely not!" His father roared, having finally ended the call. "A show off fine, a phsycopath maybe, a thief never, but all of the above! Not in a million centuries would I ever-"

"Let me talk ta ya father." Josephine muttered as his father began to rage. "But dis will have ta go through da council- you know dat he's only second in command of da four ruling families, and da most influential is Atem's…"

"I understand, mom." Joey smiled and his mother nodded.

"JOEY SETH KAIBA I FORBID YOU FROM EVER-"

"Seto, can I talk to ya for a moment?" Joey watched as his mother gripped his father in a death grip and dragged him into another room. Joey turned to look out the window and toward the wall again, vaguely remembering the dream about a girl with blonde hair and bright, lavender eyes…

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	2. Chapter 2

Candy: No one reviewed...

Shandy: I don't blame them- ow! *rubs head* What was that for?!

Candy: Just because you don't like it all that much, doesn't mean that you can not like this story!

Shandy: We'll continue this later- hope you guys enjoy it!

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Laughter filled the dirty and poor streets of southern Japan as a quartet of troublemakers rushed through the streets with practiced ease, launching themselves over carts and even shops as they ran away from the angry store owners.

"Get back here!"

"All of this for some treasure?" A silver-haired, green eyed male asked as he held his bag closer to his chest.

"This was totally not worth my presence." A different young woman with blonde hair and reddish brown eyes said haughtily.

"Oi, Atlas, duck!" A woman with short platinum blonde hair that made her look like a guy and her very light lavender-lilac eyes called to her friend, a young man brown rooted blonde hair and one yellow and one green eye. The said young man quickly slid as though to hit home base, effectively ducking under the sign for the restaurant they had been passing.

"Thanks Mali!"

"Pick up the pace!" The silver haired boy said sternly, keeping pace with the two easily. "We gotta make it back before dinner or our mom's will kill us."

"Ha, more like your mom!" The haughty blonde girl replied. "My father wouldn't care!"

"Are you willing to test that out, Claire?"

"Shove your foot where your mouth is, Ammon." Mali said as she dived into an alley. "Come on, this way!"

"All right, all right!" Ammon shouted, following Mali through the alley until they lost sight of the angry vendors. They ended up stopping on a rooftop that was higher than the others because of the hill.

"Alright, let's see what we have here." Atlas rubbed his hands together before they all began dumping out what they had stolen. Most of it was money, a few silver and gold jewelry here and there, but the one that got them the most excited was a medicine bottle full of Ibuprofen.

"No. Way." Ammon was instantly at the scene, picking the bottle up and examining it with unspoken joy.

"Do you think it could help?" Mali asked, staring up at it curiously. "Is this what your mom keeps on talking about?"

"I b pro fein…." Clair spelled out slowly, looking over their shoulders. "Sounds like it."

"Only one way to find out." Ammon said. "I'm heading down to go ask, I'll negotiate percentage with you guys later." And he hopped off the roof and onto a balcony, continuing on inside.

"If it does help her…" Atlas paused before continuing. "How do we know that it'll cure aunt Ryou?"

"I don't think it's supposed to be a cure." Mali said as she began to gather everything into one bag. "I think it's supposed to help with the pain."

"A true treasure. Hope his dad's proud of him for working so hard."

"Whatever the case, I'm going down too." Claire sauntered over to a different edge of the building and hopped down.

"Do you need any help?" Atlas asked. "Father's not gonna be back for a few days, so…"

"Nah, I'm good." Mali threw the bag over her shoulder to prove she could with ease. "But maybe we could hang out later."

"Yeah. Later." Mali also hopped over the edge and Atlas sighed. "Why can't I say what I want?"

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A young woman with blonde hair and red and purple highlights sighed as she stared out the window. She sighed when the door opened and the sound of four little feet entered the room.

"Not right now." She said. When she turned to look at them, her eyes were covered by some shades.

"Aww, is Amara depressed again?" The two younger girls asked in sync- what else would you expect from twins?

"Come on, let's go play!" The one on the right said. While they both had black hair, they both had differences in their looks. This one had red eyes like her father's, along with red highlights.

"We were gonna play hide 'n seek!" The one on the left explained. She had her mother's amethyst eyes, along with matching highlights.

"Oh, alright." Amara sighed. The twins giggled in anticipation and grabbed their older sister's hands. Just as they walked outside, their father walked over to them.

"Hello Keket, Nour, Amara." He greeted.

"Hello papa!" The twins said in sync again. "We're gonna play hide and go seek!"

"Do you mind if I talk to Amara for a bit?" He asked, crouching down on the ground so that he was at the same height as the twins.

"Don't hold her for too long." The one with red said scoldingly. "Last time you had to see Amara it lasted the whole day!" Her twin sister giggled cutely.

"Of course papa!" She said. He chuckled and patted their heads before standing up to talk to Amara. The twins ran off giggling to do who knows what while they waited.

"Papa?" Amara looked up into his crimson eyes, the familiar form of his spiked up, tricolored hair reminding her how they all got their looks… somewhat.

"I just wanted to tell you something about the following school year, seeing as you still don't know if you want to go or be homeschooled another year." He said as they began to walk.

"Really? Has something changed?" Amara asked.

"In a huge way." Her father said solemnly. "You know Joey well, correct?"

"Yes."

"Well, he suggested to his father to mention in the last meeting about the children in South Domino who are innocent of their parent's crimes. He proposed that we allow the four kids who need our help the most to be invited to North High."

"And who are they?" Amara felt that she already knew who, but she had asked anyway.

"They are from the families of Dartz Atlantica, Maximillion Pegasus, Marik Ishtar, and Akeifa Bakura." Amara nodded, suspicions confirmed.

"I see." No turning back now. "Then I shall go." He gave her a look of surprise and she giggled. "Wouldn't it help them to know that they aren't the only ones going into a new school at their age? I have heard this idea from Joey before and I believe that it would work out wonderfully."

"Even if Jason is there?" Amara cringed, but then proceeded to nod. Her father sighed. "Very well. I will tell them our family's decision in about-" he checked his watch. "Forty two minutes. You best go back to your sisters."

"Yes, papa." She turned to leave, but her father stopped her.

"Are you planning on wearing those when you go to school?" He asked softly. Amara's hand went up to her shades on her face.

"Yes."

"I will notify the school so that you don't get scolded for doing so." She nodded and continued down the hall, smiling as she heard one of the twins already counting.

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	3. Chapter 3

Shandy: We got a review!

Candy: Yes!

 **Guest: Why thank you, and we hope you have a nice day too.**

Shandy: Now, on with the story!

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"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA- HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Ammon laughed as Claire pouted in defeat. Mali was triumphant in their most recent game of Duel monsters using their parent's decks, as there weren't enough cards being sold in South Japan to build their own decks.

"You sure got beat, Claire!" Atlas said, patting Mali's shoulder proudly. "That was amazing Mali!"

"Yeah, yeah." Mali shook his shoulder off. "I was pretty awesome." She made a triumphant pose that only served to make Ammon laugh harder.

"Oh, my toons are still better than your stupid cards." Claire said as she gathered her cards up.

"Are you kidding me? Atlas' kingdom and water cards are better than your childish toons!" Mali said, unaware that five adults had entered the room silently.

"Nah, my ghouls and ghosts deck are so much better." Ammon said proudly, a smirk his father would be proud of on his face.

"I agree." All four teens froze as Ammon's father walked forward with a smirk matching his son's on his face. It was obvious that Ammon had his father's hair and his mother's eyes, but still had his father's roguish looks as he stood next to his son, ruffling his hair up a bit. "The un-dead deck is the best."

"Atlas, my boy, I haven't seen you in ages!" Dartz crooned.

"H-Hi father." Atlas murmured. "Do you have any news?"

"Actually, my boy, I need to talk to you privately." Dartz replied. Atlas swallowed and stood up, following his father out of the room. Mali watched as Ammon and Akeifa followed next, and Pegasus taking Claire away next. She turned to look at her parents, confused.

"Mom, dad, what-"

"We have a surprise for you." Malik said excitedly. "Mali-dear, you've been accepted to North High!"

"WHAT?" Mali asked with wide eyes. "Oh, h*** no! No, no, no no nono NO! I refuse to go to school with a bunch of rich pricks!" She said loudly, folding her arms and standing defiantly.

"Honey…"

"No! No way in the whole wide world would I-"

"Mali Isis Ishtar." Her father said sternly. "You will go to this school and give it a chance. If you hate it, you can do me proud and rain the Ishtar furry upon the school."

"But more importantly, we want you to have a better chance at life." Malik said with a soft smile. "I chose to go with your father because I loved him- but that unfairly led you to live life the way you do now. Going to North High will let you know what could've happened had we not come here." Mali sighed and nodded, grudgingly allowing her parents to hug her.

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Packed and ready to go, Mali, Ammon, Atlas, and Claire all stood before the daunting wall that split Japan in half.

"So… if we hate this place, you are going to help me burn it down, right?" Mali asked, nervously swallowing.

"After we find what mom's sick with and how to cure it." Ammon said, placing a hand in his jacket pocket that held a list of all of his mother's symptoms. "Sure."

"I'm down." Atlas said, probably the most nervous out of all of them.

"When are they going to get here?" Claire asked in annoyance, checking her nails. Just then something strange happened. A moving room fell down right in front of them, shocking them to death.

"Amazing…" Atlas said as he looked at the mechanics of it. "So this is an elevator…" The doors opened and two security guards stood in there.

"Come on in, watch your step." They instructed as all of them walked in cautiously with their suitcases. The doors closed and they were taken up and up, higher and higher all the way until they were at the top. They got a glimpse at all of the military men who were on the very top before the elevator continued to move across the wall and then down the other side. When the doors opened, Mali and Ammon were the first ones out, followed by the others.

A limo- limo of all things they could have imagined, awaited them. They all recognized the Kaiba Corp. logo. They were escorted into the main portion of the vehicle. Top of the market video gaming devices and lots of snacks were placed neatly around the tv. While Ammon was more interested in the sweets, Mali and Atlas were instantly on the video game, Claire giving her unhelpful opinions along the way.

When they made it to the school, there were only four people waiting there. They emerged from the vehicle to look upon the four people.

"I thought this was a school for high schoolers." Claire commented at seeing the two girls who were half a head to a head shorter than her.

"Shh." Atlas scolded her as the shorter of the two narrowed her amethyst eyes at Claire in a pout glare. Her tricolored hair was pulled into a sophisticated looking bun.

"I am Yugi Sennen, the Principal of North High. This is my daughter, Amara, who will also be a new student at this school." Amara waved shyly. "This is Joey Kaiba, and that's Jason Devlin." Jason was a young man with his father's black hair and mother's (Tea, who else?) blue eyes. He was standing awfully close to Amara and it was clearly making her uncomfortable. "We welcome you all to North High."

"So, wait." Mali held a hand in front of her before pointing at Yugi. "You're THE Yugi Sennen? Completed the Millennium Puzzle And everything?" Yugi nodded a little.

"So cool!" Dartz said in awe. The grip on Ammon's suitcase tightened a little and so did Claire's grip on hers, Mali herself placing her hand in her pocket.

The Millennium items- many people, of all walks of life, would kill to hold one of the seven that existed. They were rumored to be made of real gold and to have strange, magical properties.

"Well, I'm Mali Ishtar." Mali introduced, holding her hand out for them to shake. Amara seemed more than eager to move away from Jason in order to shake the other's hand.

"Pleasure to meet you."

"I'm Ammon Bakura." Ammon spoke, holding his hand. Amara went to shake his hand as well, but Jason stopped her with a glare at Ammon that he received tenfold. Amara sent an apologetic glance at Ammon before moving down to shake the other's hands.

"I'm Atlas Atlantica."

"And I'm Claire Pegasus."

"Why don't you all follow Amara and Joey into the school for the tour?" Yugi grabbed Jason's arm. "And Jason, weren't you asked by your father to meet him? As in, right now?" Jason grumbled a goodbye and left. "You can find me in my office if you need anything." Yugi finished with a smile as though she did not just intimidate someone into leaving.

"Follow me." Joey said, gesturing toward the school. "A new life awaits."

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	4. Chapter 4

Shandy: Only one review...

Candy: Oh, you finally got an account! YESSSSSSS! FINALLY!

Shandy: Well, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

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"I don't like that Jason guy." Was the first thing Ammon said when they were left to their own devices.

"I don't either." Atlas said as they walked into their dorm. Their parents had sent descriptions of their likes and dislikes so that they would be the most comfortable. "He seems like the type to pursue a girl and then break her heart. What's his type called?"

"A playboy." Mali commented, walking into the boy's room. "Yours is styled so much better than ours- the other room is less my style and more of Claire's."

"I see."

"Is it weird that I just wanna punch him in the face for no reason?" Ammon asked, cracking his knuckles. "Beat 'im up so bad that no one would be able to recognize him?"

"Not really." Atlas commented. "Except that I don't think we want to go that violent."

"No one's stopping you."

"Yeah… but I need to find out what mom's sick with." Ammon pulled out the paper to look at all of the symptoms. And medicine that they had already tried. "I promised dad that I wouldn't do anything really bad until I had the cure in my possession."

"Do you think that Amara and Joey would help us? Maybe even Yugi?" Mali suggested.

"Probably not. They might not want us to have any contact with our family."

"Well, they don't know what we have." Ammon smirked and placed a hand on his suitcase, giving it a few pats.

"So you did bring it." Mali said. "Claire has hers and so do I. Do you think they work?"

"Worth a shot as long as we don't get caught." Ammon said and Mali was suddenly wearing the same smirk he was.

"Oh, and Ammon." Ammon looked over at Atlas. "You might want to empty your pockets before you leave." Ammon growled and began to empty his pockets that were full with all that he had stolen.

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"So, you have a ship sailing toward an island-" Their teacher began. Mali looked around at all of her friends in boredom. Ammon was tapping the pencil on his desk, staring up into space. She couldn't see what was on his piece of notebook paper. Claire was reading a book all about an ancient sci-fi romance. Atlas was jotting down notes of some sort and looking like the loyal student he was. Or, maybe he was writing down a list of things to do later today.

Suddenly, a piece of paper appeared on her desk. Mali looked around subtly for the person who did before opening it up.

 _How are you? Are you comfortable here?  
_  
Now there was only one person in class who would ask her that, and Mali smiled and rolled her eyes at the note before passing it forward to Joey, who sat before her.

 _I'm doing fine. I have to admit that it's not as fun as what we did back home, but it's cool nonetheless.  
_  
A moment of Joey reading the message and scribbling something on the paper before it was passed back to her.

 _What sort of things did you do in South Japan for fun?  
_  
Mali smirked and replied.

 _Well, we mostly ran away from the law and stuff, but I have a feeling that's not accepted here. I do have one think that we could do, though.  
_  
Joey chuckled before scribbling out his reply.

 _What is it?  
_  
The reply was given to him quicker than the others.

 _Come and meet up in the front of the school at nine tonight. Bring a trustworthy friend if you want to and sneak out if you have to.  
_  
Joey turned his head until Mali was seeing the side of his face as he nodded before focusing on the lesson again. Mali smirked and leaned back in her chair. This was gonna be fun.

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	5. Chapter 5

Candy: One review~!

Shandy: We have. And we will continue to do so.

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"Are you CRAZY?!" Ammon hissed, glaring harshly at Mali, who shrugged it off as they continued to wait in front of the school. "Our mission for my mom is not some sort of parade! I knew I should've done this by myself!"

"And if we're ever going to be able to give it to her, we'll need their influence." Mali replied. "Besides, Atlas promised to cover for us while Claire is sleeping. It'll only be us four."

"We haven't been in this school for even a month, and you think that he's trustworthy? This is insane!" It looked like Ammon was about to say more, but her froze, and then signed a curse.

"Joey is more than capable for the mission we have in mind. I know that he has an idea of what it looks like- just calm down and trust me for once, you idiot!"

"Uh, excuse me, are we interrupting something?" Ammon froze and Mali turned to smile at Joey and Amara.

"Oh, great!" Mali cheered while Ammon just stared. "Come on over here."

"What are we doing?" Amara asked.

"We're collecting some wild herbs for Ammon's mother." Mali said honestly. "We have something that can take us to the basic area, but have no idea what it looks like. Apparently it's really rare."

"Well, then I should know." Amara said with a smile. "My expertise is in plants and herbs- just give me the name." Mali looked at Ammon as he swallowed nervously, his Adam's apple bobbing. He seemed to wait a moment before he spoke carefully.

"Uh, it's called the Reed Blossom…" He muttered.

"Alright, that is rare. I only know what it smells like and what type of leaves it had, but with a general area it will be easy."

"How are we going to find it?" Joey asked.

"This is the part that you need to keep secret." Mali said. "Come on, let's leave behind any eyes in the sky and get moving." They walked away from the school, Mali explaining on the way. "It's an object that Ammon's father passed down to him as a good luck charm before we left. We tested it out yesterday by purposely hiding Ammon's book from him."

"Do you think we're far enough away?" Ammon asked, not liking being talked about.

"Yea, we are. You can pull out whatever it is now." Joey confirmed. Ammon, very hesitantly, opened up his jacket that he had kept closed throughout the whole school year so far to reveal an object hanging from his neck by a thick, leather cord. Hanging off of it was a golden circle with a triangle inside of it, the eye of Horus on the triangle. Five pointers hung off of the bottom, and as he pulled the rope over his head to take the pendant off, it glinted in the moonlight, earning surprised gasps from Joey and Amara.

"Can I touch it?" Amara asked. "Mom won't let me even see her Puzzle, claims that she's waiting for the right time to do it." Ammon stared at her mutely before holding it out to her a little. Amara outlined the eye in the center and giggled with glee. "So. Cool!"

"Alright Ammon, let's find that herb!" Ammon nodded and moved the ring away from Amara slowly until it was pointing straight ahead, what little he knew in mind.

"Millennium Ring! Lead me to the Reed Blossom!" He said in a commanding voice. Instantly the ring lit up, and it's five pointers swiveled around until it pointed to their right. Amara giggled again and started to hop up and down like a kid being offered ice cream.

"Wow…" Joey said. "Just- wow."

"Alright, now we follow it's direction's." Mali said. "Ammon, lead the way." The albino nodded and began to walk in the direction that the ring pointed in, the others following around happily.

When the ring suddenly went slack, Ammon explained that they were within a hundred feet of the plant and Amara began her part of the search.

"Just tell me if you smell oranges." She said. It was Joey who found it, and with everyone's help they harvested the herb and Amara even managed to snag a few seeds to plant so that she could grow them at home.

"Do you know how to create the mixture?" Amara asked Ammon on their way back. Mali and Joey had fallen into their own conversation ahead of them. Ammon shook his head silently, knowing that if Mali had been paying attention he would be dead.

"I only knew that this was a key ingredient to the medicine my mom needs." He explained, pulling out a piece of paper that had her list of symptoms. Amara looked at it and smiled.

"Hey, I know this!" She looked up at him happily and he couldn't help but wonder why she was wearing shades. "I'll help you make it! And I can send it to your mom for you too!"

"Really?" Ammon asked.

"Of course! That's what friends do, right?" She asked. Ammon was also very grateful for how dark it was, because his face suddenly felt very hot.

"Y-Y-Yeah, that's what friends d-do." He stumbled out. If Amara was wondering why Ammon was suddenly stuttering she didn't show it, telling him about the process it would take to get the medicine ready to be used, and what to expect when it started to work.

"Thank you for inviting us to join you tonight." Joey said after a small amount of silence between him and Mali.

"No problem, I just had my ear talked off for it." She laughed and Joey joined her. "So, what do you like to do for fun?"

"Well… I don't know…"

"Aww, come on! You don't have to be shy with me!" Mali said with a teasing voice, slinging an arm over his shoulders even though he was taller by a good foot. "We're friends! It can't be that embarrassing!"

"Well, there is this one place that I like to go to at night." He explained, scratching the back of his neck nervously. "It's far enough away from the city that you can see outer space, but close enough that you can go home at any time you wished."

"I'd love to go!" Mali said excitedly. "Can we sneak out past curfew to go? That way it's more fun!"

"Sure!" Joey said with a laugh. "We can set up a date we'll be available and everything."

"Alright, give me one up high!" She held her hand up to about his face level and he gave it a high five, the two laughing as they continued to walk on home.

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	6. Chapter 6

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The next few days, Amara was constantly hanging out with Ammon, talking to him about his mother's sickness and the different herbs that would have to be used to insure that the medicine worked. They also had to wait a day in between combining the herbs so that it could settle, as that was the way Reed Blossoms worked. They had collected extra so that if something went wrong, they could fix it.

Claire had also begun to hang out with a young man named Tyson, who was very shy. Mali found it hard to believe that he was Joey's cousin through his mother's side, with how different the two were. Mali herself had been hanging out with Joey for a while now, but she couldn't help but feel worried for her closest friend, Atlas.

He often hung out all by himself, either reading books or writing down lots of notes. Mali didn't blame him, North High contained a lot more knowledge than she had expected. She wanted to talk to him, but found that not only was he being alone, he was doing it on purpose, slipping away from those he knew wanted to talk to him.

"Are you alright?" Joey asked one day during lunch, catching Mali staring worriedly at her friend.

"Yeah, but he's not." She gripped onto the Millennium Rod that was in her pocket. She hadn't tried what it's fabled powers were yet, but if she didn't talk to Atlas soon she would find out. "It's not like him to be this antisocial."

"Atlas, right?" Joey asked. "I could invite him to come with us to see the stars- he seemed especially interested in the constellations."

"You can try, but he's been purposely avoiding even me." Mali sighed. Joey opened his mouth to comment when a loud slap and thud echoed through the cafeteria. Everyone turned to stare in shock at Ammon, who was standing over a very startled and scared Jason laying on the floor below him, a pair of broken shades held tightly in Jason's hands. Amara's hands covered her eyes, which were now exposed because her shades were in Jason's hands, but she was clearly peaking through her fingers.

"How. Dare. You." Ammon growled.

"H-How dare you?!" Jason retorted, standing up quickly and ignoring the stinging handprint on his face that was rapidly bruising. "You low-life scum! You have no idea what you've done!"

"You ripped Amara's sunglasses off of her!" Ammon shouted louder. "I may not know why she hides her eyes, but I give her her privacy! The least you could do is accept that she doesn't feel comfortable without them on and leave it be!"

"As if! Her father forces her to wear them! It's a restriction!" Ammon's hands had tightened into fists, and he raised one to give the other a nice, black eye when a gentle hand rested on his arm. He looked to his right where Amara stood, the other hand still covering her eyes. Ammon let his arm slowly fall and turned to look at her, the deadly glare he had been giving Jason disappearing. Then he fished through his pockets and took out a pair of black sunglasses that looked as though they've been through worse.

"Here, Amara, you can wear these." He offered. She took them with a polite thank you and then paused.

"When can I return them to you?"

"You can keep them." Ammon admitted, scratching the back of his head nervously. "They have those strings on the back that you can tie together to help them stay on your head." He sent a quick glare at Jason who was watching the whole thing with his mouth wide open.

"Besides," He turned and smiled genuinely at Amara. "They'll be a whole lot more useful for you than me." Amara was blushing an adorable shade of red while the whole thing played out, and she smiled happily at him as well.

"Th-Thank you Ammon!"

"You little-" Jason had finally decided to act, moving to punch Ammon in the back of his head. Only five seconds later, Ammon had grabbed the arm and twisted it behind Jason, pushing him onto the face of the table and pinning him there with ease.

"Tomorrow night, ten o'clock, in Stargaze meadow. Come alone and unarmed. We'll finish it there." Ammon released Jason after pushing him a little further onto the table, turning to look at Amara, who was staring at him in awe.

"Would you like to continue eating somewhere else?" He asked. "I'm sorry, I really shouldn't have caused a scene and-"

"It's alright." Amara smiled at him cutely. "We probably should eat somewhere else." Ammon's face turned a little red and he nodded. The two of them picked up their trays and left, whispers flying around the room as fast as the speed of sound (See what I did there? XD).

"Please tell me someone caught that on tape." Mali said.

"I did." Claire responded, waving her phone in the air. "We could use it as blackmail later if we so pleased." Mali smirked and the two fist-bumped.

"How can that be used as blackmail?" Joey asked.

"Their obviously crushing on each other." Claire said, flipping her hair over her shoulder and onto her back. "Not to mention that Jason getting his butt handed to him is bound to be all over the internet. There are even small details that we could search for and find out for those who were seen in the video, but weren't doing anything in the main focus of the camera."

"Wow." Joey whistled. "When did you guys master that?"

"Well, our parents would often test us." Mali explained. "Even though our parents were bad and did bad things, they taught us skill that could be used for both good and evil. My mother and Ammon's mother were very adamant about us learning that they could be used for good and not just evil. It was just more fun to be bad down there." Joey nodded after a moment.

"Could you teach me?" Mali thought for a moment.

"Sure." She finally decided. "But we'd have to talk to Atlas. He's better at teaching them than me." Joey nodded and stood up. "Hey, where are you going?"

"To go and ask Atlas." Joey answered. "Do you wanna come?"

"Sure thing-" Mali finished the last of her lunch and stood up as well. "I'll see you later, Claire."

"Bye Mali." Claire said, but what the two didn't notice was that Claire was suddenly looking very much like her father when he was plotting something devious. For the few who did, it made their hairs stand on end. Then, without a word, she grabbed what was left of her lunch and left the lunchroom.

"Hey, Atlas!" Atlas looked up at the voice and smiled a little when he saw Mali and Joey.

"Hey Mali, Joey." He responded. "How are you today?"

"Swell." Mali leaned on Atlas as he turned to shut his computer. "Golden boy here wants to learn all of the useful skills we learned down South. I'm good with physical but Joey needs someone who can also explain the logic behind it and the process. We all know I'm terrible at that stuff, and your amazing at it. So? How about it?" Atlas studied Joey for a moment before seeming to go over them in his mind.

"Sure." He said finally. "During break and after school, you two can meet me in the back of the school for the first lesson."

"What would the first lesson be?" Joey asked.

"We should start with the simple things." Atlas began to gather his stuff. "So either picking a lock or a pocket."

"Great!" Mali cheered. "So, we'll see you in three hours then?" Atlas nodded. "Great! Come on, Joey, let's get to class." Joey nodded and the two walked off. Atlas sighed with a sad smile before heaving his beaten up and battered back pack over his shoulder to walk away.

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Mali watched on from the bushes stealthily. The sun had completely set behind her, which was great on her part. She took a look down at her watch.

"I still only see Ammon and it's 9:53." She muttered into her walkie talkie. She waited a moment and a response came.

"Do we really have to be here to watch?" It was Atlas, and Mali looked across the way and to her right where she knew Atlas was hiding by a bench and some bushes.

"Of course!" Claire hissed, and Mali glanced at the tree that was to her left several feet away. "We have to record this and send both of the videos to his mother and father! I'm not sure about Uncle Akeifa liking the cause, but Aunt Ryou would love it! And Uncle Akeifa would be proud to know that his son is so strong!"

"Only you could think of something like that." Atlas sighed. Mali chuckled, and was about to respond when she heard some rustling in the bushes. "All I'm saying is that Ammon asked for Jason to come alone. It wouldn't be fair if Jason found out that we're here. It could very well ruin everything."

"Guys, I'm gonna go check something." Mali spoke. "Tell me what happens."

"If the coward shows up." Claire muttered while Dartz sent an affirmative. Mali crawled across the grass and to the bushes that had rustled, managing to peek around. Who she saw there shocked her. "Amara, what are you doing here?"

Amara, caught red handed, blushed and fiddled with some hair to her left.

"W-Well, I thought that Ammon might want some support, but it looks like he already has some. I should probably go home then-"

"No, stay! Ammon would love it." Mali said. Amara smiled at her hesitantly and Mali offered her a hand. "Here, let me take you closer." Amara took Mali's hand and she guided them closer. Then she pulled out her walkie talkie. "Hey guys, Amara's joining us."

"Hi Amara." Claire said.

"Maybe Ammon won't kill us now." Atlas said, slightly hopeful.

"Why would Ammon-"

"Shh! I see Jason!" Atlas said suddenly. Mali glanced down at her watch. 9:59.

"At least he has a sense of being on time." Amara muttered as they saw him walk onto the field, for whatever reason looking a little out of breath. Ammon saw him and laughed.

"First thing you learn about fighting in South Japan." He said, moving into a fighting stance. "You come before the designated time."

"Why would you, though?" Jason asked, getting into his own fighting stance. "That's just a waste of time."

"Haven't you ever heard of field advantage?" Ammon asked as they began to circle. "But that doesn't really matter, you wouldn't be able to learn about any of it anyway. You're brain's too full of junk and not enough smarts."

"I know more than you do. You wouldn't be able to live here even if you graduated from North High. You belong in the slums of South Japan, like your parents and your stupid friends." Ammon growled and made his fighting stance even more accurate, his eyes narrowed in a harsh, hateful glare. "But let's just cut to the chase- if I win, Amara becomes my girl."

"Lowest of the low." Ammon snarled. "Fine, but when I win, you stay away from her."

"What? You're not gonna make her yours?" Jason asked, mildly shocked.

"Unlike what most people believe, my father was a gentleman to those he cared about." Ammon stepped forward and Jason did the same. "And besides, Amara is her own person. She doesn't belong to anyone but herself. And I will make sure that fact stands firm, so if you think you can make her yours, you best surrender now."

"Never in a millennia." Jason took two steps forward and Ammon did as well. One more step, and it would be easy to punch the other.

"Whatcha gonna do thief?" Jason asked a little softer. "Pickpocket me?"

"No, I'm not that low." Ammon smirked dangerously. "But now that you've suggested it, maybe I will. After all, you are a weak little thing with such a big ego to make up for it." Jason didn't seem to bite the bait for the first punch, so they continued to circle each other.

"Why is Ammon waiting?" Amara asked softly. "Shouldn't he just attack?" But Mali was already shaking her head.

"Whoever deals the first hit reveals their strategy." She explained as the tension between the two boys rose. "Kinda like in duel monsters. Yes, they move first and get on the attack quickly, but the second person to go can learn the other's strategy faster, and find a weakness in it." Amara stared at Mali with wide eyes. "What?"

"Did… did your parents explain techniques and strategies for situations in life with Duel Monster Cards too?" Mali nodded proudly.

"If anything, it made us more likely to be successful in life. Ammon, Atlas, Claire and I often battle against each other with our parent's decks because there aren't enough cards going around the market down there to build a good deck." Mali smiled at Amara, who was thoughtfully nodding. "If you have a deck, you should join us sometime."

"You really think I could?"

"Of course-"

"Sorry to cut the girl talk-" The two girls froze at Atlas's voice in the walkie talkie. "But Ammon and Jason have stopped circling each other." Amara and Mali looked to the fight to see that, indeed, the two had stopped circling and were facing each other.

"What are they doing?" Mali hissed into the walkie talkie. "You're not supposed to stop circling each other!"

"Why not?" Amara asked. Mali swallowed nervously.

"When you stop circling each other, it either means that one is going to surrender, or…" Mali sighed. "Or a fight till the other is unconscious."

"But Jason doesn't know that, isn't that unfair?" Amara asked.

"I'm sure Ammon is aware of that." Claire spoke. "Let's just watch." And silence responded, letting the sound of chirping crickets echo even louder in the night. Ammon suddenly smirked, releasing his fighting stance.

"What are you doing?" Jason asked. "You set this up!"

"I could beat you unconscious right now." Ammon commented, walking forward, placing his hands in his pockets. He chuckled as the other stared at him with wide eyes. "And with my hands in my pockets."

"I don't believe you- gah!" With one swipe of his legs, Ammon had tripped Jason onto his back.

"First of all, your stance is weak. Maybe if you worked out a bit more it would be harder to knock you over, but with an incorrect stance, you're bound to lose anyway."

"You little-" Jason was interrupted again as he attempted to stood up, Ammon, kicking him in the side of his stomach.

"Secondly, you're not protecting your midsection or chest." Ammon commented. "It would be easy for me to kick- or punch- you in the stomach and knock the breath out of you."

"Don't-"

"Third, you're so focused on making Amara yours that you're concentration on the fight strayed so far as to stop moving in a circle." Ammon placed his foot on Jason's stomach and pinned him to the ground with it, even though Jason was pushing on the leg and trying to get it off. "In South Japan, that's a deadly mistake or you realizing that you've already lost." Ammon pressed down harshly with his foot and then let go, Jason scrambling to his feet while panting.

"Fourth, you don't know how to use those flimsy limbs of yours to fight." Ammon watched the other get into his weak position. "You wasted time you could've used to mentally prepare yourself to train and make you exhausted- a poor decision if you're going to fight if I do say so myself."

"Finally-" Faster than you could say 'duel' Ammon had come over and kneed Jason in just the right spot to knock the breath out of him and send him flying a few feet away. "You made the mistake of pissing me off and threatening someone close to me." Ammon walked over and watched with a blank stare as the other struggled to feel himself breath. "I hope you took notes- next time you try to challenge me, make yourself better." A few seconds later, Jason passed out. Ammon stared for a moment before looking around. "Claire, Atlas, Mali, I know you're here."

"How'd you find out?" Atlas asked, slightly shocked.

"I can see your figures in the darkness." Ammon shrugged. "Besides, my night vision is way better than my hearing, maybe even my day vision now? I don't know, father hasn't tested me in a while." Atlas nodded. But, Ammon was definitely more than shocked to see Amara walk forward with Mali. He stuttered for a bit as Amara looked at anywhere but him. "Amara? I-I didn't know you were here! Uh.. how much did you see?"

"The whole fight." She clarified.

"Oh." Ammon paused.

"So… how come you're night vision is better than your hearing?" Ammon blinked for a moment and then blushed, embarrassed.

"It was his first fight." Atlas began. "Outside of training with his dad, that is. Some stupid kid decided to make fun of his hair with some of his friends and Ammon finally decided to use his skills to teach them a lesson. Ammon beat their a**ess in the end, but because he was still inexperienced he got hit in the head hard. We found out later that his hearing was damaged a little. He's basically partly deaf because sometimes his hearing decides to fail on him. He's learned how to read lips and Mali's mom taught him sign language."

"But he did the sweetest thing after that, like buying flowers and food for all of the deaf people that he could find with notes of encouragement. He told them that if they needed any help, he would be glad to do so." Ammon, knowing that this was going to come up, blushed even more and looked down at his feet as he dug the tip of his shoe into the dirt.

"Could you teach me then?"

"What?" Ammon's head snapped up so fast that everyone was worried if he had hurt it in some way. Amara stared into his green eyes shyly, even though Ammon couldn't see her own. Happiness swelled in his chest at seeing that she was still wearing his pair that he had given her, but at the same time he felt a bit sad.

' _It's as if she's guarding her soul.'_ He thought. ' _Mother always said that the eyes were the windows to one's soul.'_

"Teach me sign language." Amara clarified. "No one at school knows how to because no one here is deaf, but I've always wanted to learn it."

"I'd love to teach you, Amara."

"Sorry to interrupt the moment-" Everyone turned to Claire. "But what are we going to do about this idiot?" She pointed to Jason, who was still knocked out on the ground.

"We can leave him." Atlas pointed out. "It is warm enough tonight that he wouldn't freeze to death. And I'm sure that he would wake up before anything like that happens."

"I don't know…" Amara mumbled. "He is horrible and all, but we shouldn't just leave him there." Mali smiled at Amara and poked her shoulder gently.

"You, my friend, have a heart of gold."

"So I've been told." Amara smiled at her.

"I know what to do." Ammon moved over and threw Jason over his shoulder before walking toward where they came from. They followed, and soon realized what Ammon was going to do. First, he pulled the keys out of Jason's pocket and unlocked the car. He placed Jason in the driver's seat and then turned on the car, closing the door behind him.

"There." Ammon dusted his hands off and turned to face the rest of them. "Should we head back to our dorms?"

"I did tell my dad that I was spending the night with some of my friends." Amara said slowly.

"Sweet! Girl party!" Claire cheered.

"As long as there's none of that stupid makeup or nail polish I'm cool with it." Mali shrugged, but the smile on her face revealed just how much she had understated her feelings to having a sleepover with Amara.

"Think we could break the rules and let the boys join us?" Claire asked mischievously.

"I don't see why not." Atlas said after a moment. Ammon nodded silently.

"Alright- to the dorms!" Mali grabbed Atlas' and Claire's arms as she began to rush away, leaving Ammon and Amara to follow.

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	7. Chapter 7

Shandy: Sorry, sorry, we weren't able to respond to your reviews last time.

Candy: We were in a rush- but now we can thank the only person who has reviewed on this story! We appreciate you so much, GGMJ! Thanks for always reviewing!

Shandy: Now, on with the story!

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The sleepover was a blast! They all ended up falling asleep around one that morning and when they woke up for school Claire let Amara borrow one of her outfits for the day, and even insisted that she could keep it.

They were all giggles the whole day whenever something from the previous night had been brought up. However, tonight was special for a different reason. Mali, Joey, and Atlas were all going to Millennial Hill, which was the best place to view the stars.

"I really can't wait." Mali said. "In South Domino you always kept the porch lights on because it was more likely for someone to break in if you didn't, so we never really got to see the stars. Mom always said that they were gorgeous."

"They are." Joey agreed. As they walked up the hill, a few minutes away before the sun completely set, he patted the picnic basket in his arms. "I hope we brought enough food, dad says that I have mom's bottomless stomach."

"I'm sure we'll live." Atlas replied, more interested in looking up at the sky than anything.

"What'cha lookin' at?" Mali asked. Atlas jumped a bit, looking down at the other. With the moon and stars shining above, he could see them reflected through Mali's eyes. It also softened her features, and as a soft breeze brushed past, her hair (that she was growing out) moved in it's wake. He felt his face heat up and pointedly look back at the sky.

"The constellations." He answered after clearing his throat. "Even though there are lots of books about them, I've been charting them myself." He pointed up at the sky. "See, there's the big dipper and little dipper… and that's orion."

"Wow… I never thought I'd be able to see them for real." Mali smiled up at Atlas and gave him a light punch to his shoulder. "You're one smart kid, I'm sure you're dad's real proud." At the mention of his father, Atlas's entire demeanor became depressed and he looked to his right.

"Yeah… proud."

"Come on, you two, we're almost at the perfect spot!" Joey called from ahead.

"We're coming!" Mali shouted, grabbing Atlas's hand and pulling him along, not noticing how her friend's face had started to become very red. They hung out there until it was midnight, laughing and joking around. Mali had bid goodbye to Joey and now she and Atlas were walking to their dorms.

"Hey… Atlas?"

"What is it?" Atlas asked.

"Are you really doing ok?" Mali looked Atlas straight in the eye and he sighed.

"I can't hide it from you forever, can I?" He asked. "I'll tell you a few things, but you can't tell anyone else."

"You know how well I can keep a secret." They had stopped walking. Atlas bit his lip before pulling out a necklace with a strange stone on it- it looked to be the same color as his aqua eye. "What's the matter?"

"Dad gave me this." Atlas swallowed. "But… things have been stretching thin with me and my dad's relationship, they were before we were sent here. And… I'm scared." He admitted. He placed his hands on her shoulders and looked down before looking her in the eye. "I can't tell you more than that, but… if something bad happens, and I'm in the center of it all, I want you to grab this necklace and rip it off of me. Stomp it into the ground, throw it in a pit of acid, whatever you can do. But… don't do it until then. Please." Mali looked up at him, extremely confused, but she nodded determinedly.

"I promise, Atlas. I promise." He smiled and pulled her into a hug, which she returned full-heartedly.

"Thank you."

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	8. Chapter 8

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Now that it was brought to Mali's attention, she was even more worried for her friend. After promising what she had promised, Atlas had grown more distant and less talkative. And the stone around his neck kept reappearing in her dreams, over and over again, but when she tried to remember what had happened… all she got was a big headache. It had been several months now, and it was snowing heavy, which did not bode well with her mood.

She would have told someone, anyone, but she always made a point to keep a promise no matter what. She rarely made any promises, the few she had made had been resolved long ago or were extremely private, but not worrying. This-this was eating her alive.

As she waited impatiently for the bell to ring, she was interrupted by Yugi coming in and telling her that she was needed in the Library- what the heck?! She hadn't done anything wrong!

…

Well, unless you counted pranking several teachers, but if you asked her it was totally necessary. They deserved to have their pride brought down a level!

…

Or ten.

But when she walked with Yugi to the library, she was pleased to realize that she actually wasn't in trouble (this time) and that Atlas, Ammon, and Claire were there too.

"Well, soon it's going to be Christmas." Yugi said with a small smile on her face. "Usually, students get sent home to their families for the holidays. Unfortunately, it is very dangerous to try traveling over the wall with all of the snow that's fallen this year- a total of two feet and three inches so far." Everyone's jaws fell. "So, instead, we set up a video chat with your parents. I don't know how they decided to do it, but I do know that they will all appear on here." Yugi turned on the tv and began to walk away. "I will leave you be now."

They watched her retreating back and only payed attention to the tv when it crackled into life. On the screen was Marik, staring straight into the camera, doing… something.

" _Marik, honey, step away and let me try-"_

" _No. I love that you wanna help me, Malik-pretty, but I can do this on my own."_ Marik replied sternly to his wife.

" _I don't know."_ Akeifa's voice rang out with a snicker. " _Maybe you should try turning it on?"_

" _Shut up, idiot"_ Marik seethed before smirking. " _Unless, you don't remember that one time where-"_

" _Look, it worked."_ Malik said, and Marik jumped back only to hog the screen when he saw them.

" _Hi kids!"_

"Pft- Hi dad." Mali laughed a little bit at her weird parents.

" _Oi, move back ya oaf, we wanna see our kids too!"_ Akeifa shoved Marik out of the way, and suddenly Malik, Akeifa, Pegasus, and Ryou were visible.

Wait… Ryou?!

"Mom, what are you doing up?" Ammon asked, moving towards the front. "You should be in bed resting! What if-"

" _I've already had this talk once, Ammon."_ Ryou jabbed her husband's side and he flinched, rubbing it while muttering something incoherent under his breath. " _The Ibuprofen has done wonders, and I hear that you're looking for a permanent medicine?"_

"Yeah, Amara's helping me with that." Ammon admitted. "We're hoping for it to be done right around New Years."

" _Amara?"_ Akeifa asked. " _Who's she?"_

"A friend of mine, dad."

" _No, I want details."_ Affirmatives from Malik and Ryou, and even Pegasus rang out and Ammon turned crimson. Mali winked as she put her arm over Ammon's shoulders and answered for the lad.

"Amara is a beautiful and dearly kind young lady that also started to go to this school with us last year. She's Atem and Yugi's eldest daughter."

"Mali!"

" _Oh, my little boy has grown up and fallen in love."_ Ryou said as she wiped away a few tears. " _And with my best friend's daughter. How wonderful!_ "

"Mother." Ammon hissed.

" _Oh, don't worry about your father's opinion, I'll take care of that."_ Ammon, for the first time in several years, saw his father's eyes flash in fear as Ryou gave him a very scary and intimidating look.

"I like your mom." Mali whispered into Ammon's ear with a chuckle. "Especially when she's not sick."

" _What about you, Mali-honey?"_ Malik asked. " _How've you been?"_

"Oh, you know, pranking teachers, turning in little homework, surprising said teachers when I ace the tests, the usual."

" _Any boys?"_

"No, father." Mali laughed. "There are no boys that you need to kill."

"What about Joey?" Claire asked.

"What do you mean, what about Joey?" Mali asked, confused.

" _Who is Joey?"_ Marik asked.

"He's a friend." Mali insisted. "Is it wrong not to have friends? You're friends with Tyson, should I automatically assume something because your friends with a boy?" To her surprise, Claire actually turned red. Mali stared for a bit before groaning. "Oh, come on! Atlas!" She pointed to the said boy in question. "Have you fallen in love with the opposite sex?"

"Uhhhhhhhh…" Atlas's beet red face was all the answer Mali needed. She facepalmed, muttering something incoherent.

"Ok, just because my friends have fallen in love with their friends from the opposite sex, doesn't mean that I will." She corrected.

" _Mali-girl, does that mean that you're gay?"_ Pegasus asked.

"I'm bi, thank you very much." Mali huffed, crossing her arms. Atlas's eyes widened as he stared in shock. He clearly hadn't known that.

"I had figured, you kept on checking out some girls back in South Japan." Ammon said after a moment. "But you never said anything, so I didn't."

"Wait, so do you like anyone of the same sex?" Claire asked.

"No." Mali stated. "At the moment, I do not like anyone in that regard."

"Uhh, where is father?" Atlas asked, changing the subject.

" _He said that he was going on another trip and left."_ Malik answered sadly.

"I see."

" _So, Claire-darling~"_ Her father sang, leaning forward with a smirk on his face. " _Who is this Tyson?"_

"H-He's a good friend of mine." Claire responded, trying not to look infatuated. "He's Serenity and Tristan's eldest son."

" _Oh, I remember them, both are such good people. They probably don't think that about me, though."_

" _I still want to know who this Joey is."_ Marik said with a huff.

"He's Seto and Josephine's son." Mali answered her father.

" _Oh, that rich prick's boy?"_ Marik asked. He chuckled. " _I did send him a run for his money when I kidnapped his younger brother- don't even think about doing that, by the way. You'd most likely die."_

"I hear ya loud and clear dad." Mali relaxed a little. "So how are things going in South Japan?"

" _Well, we've had a lot of thank you notes for sending you guys away from the ungrateful pricks that were running against you in the criminal business."_ Malik began to count off. " _And then we have a lot of thank you gifts for Ammon for the people he helped, and then a few of your friends have sent gifts as well, and then we have christmas gifts for you that were already sent that will be sent to the families that you're staying with, and-"_

"Woah, hold up-" Claire put her hands in the air. "What do you mean, families we'll be staying with?"

" _Don't you know?" Ryou asked. "Ammon will be staying with the Sennen family for Christmas break because the school will be closed. Claire was chosen to stay with the Taylor's, and Atlas and Mali were chosen to be taken to the Kaiba's."_

"Oh."

"I don't mind that." Atlas said after a moment.

"Good luck with all those girls." Mali joked, punching Ammon in the arm as he seemed to blush worse than he had before. Then he paled so fast that everyone thought that he was going to faint.

"S***!"

" _What's wrong?"_ Akeifa asked.

"I-I'm going to have to meet her father…" Ammon muttered. "And your arch nemesis…" He hung his head in defeat. "I'm dead."

" _No you're not."_ Ryou assured. " _If I know Yugi, and believe me I do, she will make sure that nothing bad happens to you. Remember, her father might be your father's enemy, but her mother and your mother are best friends."_ Ryou smiled that smile that just made you know that everything was going to be okay and that there is nothing that you needed to worry about.

"Oh! I have to show you guys, Ammon beat someone up!" Claire pulled out her phone. "Atlas, mind helping me?"

"Sure thing."

" _You beat someone up?!"_ Ryou asked with wide eyes as Akeifa laughed.

"Mom, I can explain-" Ammon was cut off by Mali.

"You see, for whatever reason, Amara always wears sunglasses to school. Jason, the son of Duke and Tea, is infatuated with Amara and had decided that he wanted to know what she was hiding, so he tried to take Amara's glasses off."

"I-"

"I filmed the whole thing" Claire interrupted Ammon again. "Both when the act happened and later on that day when they decided to fight."

" _Ooo, I can't wait!"_ Akeifa said happily with a wicked smirk on his face.

"It wasn't that impressive." Ammon muttered. "He wasn't a good opponent." A side screen showed up on the tv, moving their parents to the left side of the screen as the video showed up on the right side. Atlas pressed play and they watched the whole scene play out. Then Atlas went to the next video and showed how the whole fighting scene played out. It ended with Ammon calling out for his friends because he knew that they were there.

" _That's my boy!"_ Akeifa slapped his knee as he laughed, and Ammon was sure that if he was there with his father in person, Ammon would've gotten a good slap to the back.

" _Always disliked Tea. And Duke."_ Malik said as her husband congratulated Akeifa on teaching his son so well. " _Glad you were able to beat up their son, Ammon."_

" _Malik!"_ Ryou said.

" _What? Even you can't deny that her friendship speeches were over the top, and that Duke's a playboy at heart."_ Ryou's frustrated silence spoke words as she huffed and looked to Ammon.

" _I'm glad that you solved the problem, but please remember that violence isn't always the answer."_

"I know, mom." Ammon smiled at his mother. "I'm glad that you're doing well."

" _She should go to bed soon."_ Akeifa said as he seemingly checked the time. " _We'll be waiting for that medicine you promised, Ammon."_ Akeifa moved to pick Ryou up.

"Yes, father."

" _And Ammon."_ Akeifa leaned down and smiled- genuinely smiled, not smirked- at his son. " _I'm proud of you."_

" _We're proud of you."_ His mother corrected, blowing a kiss at the screen. Ammon blew a kiss back and waved goodbye to his parents as happiness swelled up in his chest. They were proud of him.

" _Well, you don't see that every day."_ Marik commented, watching as Akeifa and Ryou left the room they were in.

" _If I know Yugi the way I do, she's probably burning with curiosity at how the meeting went now."_ Malik laughed, and everyone joined her. " _Stay safe, Mali, Atlas, Claire. Don't forget what we've taught you."_

"We won't mother." Mali said as tears entered her eyes. "I miss you."

" _We miss you too, sweetie."_

" _Make sure to introduce us to your friends."_ Pegasus said.

"We'll see." Claire laughed. They then said their goodbye's and the tv turned off, Claire collecting her phone as Ammon went to the door to tell Yugi they were done.

"Mali, are you okay?" Atlas asked softly as Mali wiped some of her tears away.

"I'll be fine, I'm just homesick. Having you guys here helps a lot."

"You know…" Atlas turned Mali to look towards him as he paused. "Whenever you feel homesick, you can come to me. And it's okay to cry." Mali smiled and hugged Atlas, Atlas hugging her back as well.

"Thanks, Atlas." Mali told him. "For everything."

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	9. Chapter 9

Shandy: REVIEW!

Candy: What?!

Shandy: Alright- Bravemaridin, thank you so much for reviewing!

Candy: And thank you for the complements! Yes, he is an a**.

Shandy: To the story!

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Mali stared out of the window of her temporary bedroom as the snow fell outside. She hadn't been allowed outside at all and she didn't like it. Joey's father was giving them the cold shoulder, as Joey assured was the same with most of his friends. His mom was really cool, telling them some sweet stories from her youth- namely avoiding any bad ones with their parents. But she wanted to go out and play in the snow! If you went out in the Snow in South Japan, it had to be really important or you were going to be victim to a snowball ambush. Here, she was hoping to try some new things, like Snowman building and snow angels and maybe even a friendly snowman fight-

The bell rang and Mali jumped, turning to look at the door of her room.

"Come in." She said after a moment, and the door opened to show Joey all done up in his winter clothes.

"Uhh, mom and dad want to meet you and Atlas down in the living room." He said. "I'll go and tell him now."

"Alright, thanks for letting me know, I'll be down in a bit." Mali smiled a little and Joey nodded, closing the door and leaving her be. Mali sighed and, deciding to look less I-Just-Woke-Up and more I've-been-up-for-a-while by putting on a light purple tank top and a black jacket. She threw on some khaki pants before leaving the room and walking down to the living room (Two story mansion, so many empty rooms, and she still felt somewhat claustrophobic).

"Hi, Mal'." Josephine said when she came down. Then she smiled. "Wow."

"What?"

"Ya look just like ya parents in that outfit." Josephine laughed a little. "Always admired ya mother for having the courage to wear the outfits she did."

"What did mom wear?"

"Hold up, I think I got an example here-" She pulled out a photo book from a pouch on the chair she had been sitting in and flipped a few pages as Mali walked over. "There we go." That's ya mother there, and you're father's right there." Mali looked over her shoulder and gaped.

"THAT's what my mom wore?" Mali asked. (It's just the outfit during battle city only for females.)

"Ya, your mom was very daring." She said.

"And that's Yugi… and Atem… and Aunt Ryou…" Mali pointed to all of the faces she could see. "And Uncle Akeifa… and you?"

"Yeah, that's me."

"You totally looked like a guy! How on earth did you do that?" Josephine shrugged.

"I don't know. Made me look tougher, didn't it?"

"Yeah." Mali paused. "Where's Pegasus and Dartz?" Josephine paused, but then continued.

"You see… they were the ones who kidnapped and lost Atem in Japan." She said. "They didn't really want to, their boss, Zork, told them to and they followed. We defeated Zork, he died in the electric chair before Japan's downfall. Seto and Atem still hold a lot against them and your parents because they were hypnotized and put under Zork's control too. And then the rules we had set up to protect everyone prevented anyone who was first sent over there from ever coming back. To most of us, their forced betrayal didn't hurt a lot. It was different for your mothers."

"Oh. They never told me that. Dad and Uncle Akeifa just said that they always hated your parents." Josephine laughed.

"That part's true. The only reason why they're in this picture is because of Yugi, Ryou, and Malik."

"Why didn't they fight back?" Mali asked unconsciously.

"Well, they know what Justice is. When the law came to send those who had done bad, they knew that it included them and they went." She said. "They respected that the laws were one of the only peaceful ways to help Japan get back on it's feet. I think your mom and Ryou had some convincing to do as well. No matter how you put it, your parents had a sense of morals and what was right and wrong, even if they did bad things."

"Wow." Mali sighed. "I should give my parents more respect."

"Shouldn't we all." Josephine said. She put the photo album away as Joey and Atlas came into the room.

"You wished to speak with us?" Atlas asked.

"Yes." She smiled at them. "Seto's going to be in one of those all-day meetings, so Yugi, Serenity, and I decided that I would take you all out shopping for winter clothes."

"Really?" Mali asked, excitedly. They would be able to go outside!

"Yes." She chuckled a little and stood up. "So come on, to the car."

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"Ammon~" Two twin voices called out. The said teen froze in terror, reminding himself not to show fear. He guessed he still needed the practice, as he had never talked directly to their father, who he only supposed would be scarier…

"Ah, hello Nour, Keket." He said, not liking the smirks the twins had on their face. "Um… do you need something?"

"Yes!" The two instantly went to his side and grabbed his hands, preventing any form of escape, secure in their supposedly 'innocent' and loose grasp.

"We need someone to play hide and go seek with us!" Keket explained.

"But Amara and mom are masters and always win, and papa is always busy." Nour finished, giving him the look that he knew would be the death of him one day- the puppy eyes.

While hide and seek sounded very safe, whoever was it used a toy gun, and if they shot you, then you were out. Could he just say that those Nerf bullets hurt?! And if he was it, the two little devils in disguise tag-teamed to distract him with false noises and clues. He had absolutely no idea how Amara was able to find the two- ever. He only supposed that she had memorized their hiding places and had an aim better than his own.

Was this the result of two game masters having kids who are twins?

"Uhh-"

"Hate to disappoint you two-" Ammon was saved by the angel and only one who had the ability to deny the twins anything (except their mother) came. "But Ammon's going to come with me for the rest of the day." He thanked his lucky stars and guardian angel as Amara began to carefully remove her younger siblings from his arms.

"Are you two going out on a date?" Nour asked hopefully, her eyes (which she got from her mother) shining hopefully. Another thing Ammon didn't really like about the two devils- they were persistent on how the two were a couple.

Ammon really didn't mind that, but he had absolutely no idea how Amara felt about the matter.

"No, we're going to hang out with some friends."

"But Amara!" Keket whinned. "You need to go on a date with your boyfriend! Unless…" Keket gained an evil glint in her crimson eyes as she smirked. "Papa hasn't given you two the talk yet." If Ammon wasn't red before he sure was now.

"That's not-"

"That's absolutely-"

"We're not-"

"We'd never-" The two kept on stuttering out a reply. Keket, satisfied with her work, took Nour (who was terribly confused) and began to walk away.

"I-I'm so sorry." Amara finally managed to get out, and Ammon turned to look at her adorable red face. The only problem was that she looked so… sad.

:No- It's fine, I'm sure that if my older sister was here, she would be the same.: Ammon signed slowly enough for Amara to understand.

"You have an older sister?" Ammon actually winced, and began to walk forward. Amara quickly followed, curiosity spiked.

:Yeah… but she's not here anymore.:

"Did she move out?" Amara asked. Ammon laughed a little.

:Nah, she never would've done that.:

"Then wha- oh. Oh, my gosh, I'm so sorry! I had no idea!"

:Don't worry about it, I don't remember all that much anyway.: Ammon shot her a smile that he was often told was like his mother's smile- the one that made everyone feel like they did something right, even if they didn't. He was pleased when she calmed down, even managing to smile back at him.

"Do you know what she was like?"

:Dad always said that Amane looked just like mom, only with violet eyes.: Ammon described after a moment. :He said that she was a feisty little thing and always knew the best comeback. She was ready to pick a fight and often came out on top, but she also had a heart of gold. Mom told me that, once, she started a project at school and got everyone in on it. It was to help find all of the cats and dogs in South Japan a good home- even a few of the kids living on the streets.:

"Sounds amazing." Amara said softly.

"Yeah." He said slowly, surprising Amara for a moment.

"Such an amazing person shouldn't have died." She said even softer. Ammon actually laughed.

"She's such an amazing person because she died." He explained when Amara gave him a weird look for laughing. "She ran into an apartment building to save five kids and two babies before the building crashed down. Atlas's older brother, Damion, had gone in with her to help. They saved all of them, at the cost of their own lives. In our town, we even have a small memorial day for it. So many more people were given the courage to stand up and help, even though their parents were bad."

"Really?" Ammon nodded. "Wish I could've met her."

"I don't really see a need to." He admitted. "After all…" He looked her in the eye and smiled at Amara, and Amara could've sworn that a wind had blown rose petals past. "From what little I remember, you're just like her."

The moment was ruined when Ammon, realizing what he had said, blushed profoundly and coughed, looking away. "Come on, we don't want to keep our friends waiting."

"Y-Yeah, of course!" Amara said. "We should go- don't want- waiting on us." She stuttered out as they began to hurry down the hall.

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"I don't think we should, Claire."

"Oh, come on, it'll be fun! We just go over there-" Claire pointed over to Ammon and Amara, who seemed to be talking very animatedly to each other. Ammon struck a pose and Amara stroke a different dramatic pose before the two laughed, and then signed to each other. Who knew some ice cream could get reserved people to open up? (Me: *raises hand* Happens all the time)

"Ammon will see it happen before we could do anything."

"I agree with Mali on that." Atlas said with a smirk. "But it would be worth it to try."

"Well, someone besides Tyson should be the voice of reason." Mali said, and the said boy blushed. Tyson looked every bit like his father, besides his hair and eyes. His hair had been pulled back into a ponytail (reaching just past his shoulders), was a dark reddish brown (more brown than red). His eyes were grey like his mother's.

"But they should get together!" Claire insisted. "Joey, back me up here."

"They should get together-"

"Yes!"

"But I don't think we should intervene." He finished. Claire huffed.

"You're all traitors." She grumbled. "Atlas is my only friend."

"I wouldn' mind gettin' in on dis." Josephine told the other with a certain look on her face that would've creeped the normal person out as she rubbed her hands. "But I got a better plan."

"Mom!" Joey groaned.

"I'm all ears." Claire said, just as devious. Josephine leaned in and began to whisper a plan of some sort.

"I suddenly feel very sorry for Ammon and Amara." Mali said as she looked over at the two. They suddenly seemed very serious at the moment. "Maybe I can save them if I go over there."

"I'll come with you." Joey and Atlas said at the same time. They stared at each other in almost complete shock before something seemed to click in their heads. And they continued to stare. The energy coming off of them was almost physical tension, too thick for even scissors to cut.

"Alright, if you want to." Mali shrugged, a bit creeped out that her two best friends had done things at the same time. She shrugged it off, though, and walked over to Ammon and Amara.

"Oh, hi Mali." Amara greeted. "We were just talking about what could be done to help South Japan thrive, and then hopefully reunite the two."

"Really?" Mali asked. "That sounds like it would be very complicated." Then she paused, staring at Amara for a moment. "Why do you wear sunglasses?" Ammon and Amara stared at her and she then realized just how bluntly she had said it. "Sorry, I didn't mean for that to sound so insensitive. I've been told I have a blunt mouth." She laughed awkwardly. "But it's really peaked my curiosity several times- you even wear them at night! It must be pretty hard to see."

"Well, I wear them because my eyes aren't like yours." She said with a small smile. "I used to go to public school in Elementary, but then some kids decided to poke fun at how my eyes were different and my parents pulled me out. I just never grew the interest to go back until now."

"Wow, I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine. I figured the question would come up sooner or later." She laughed. "And yes, it is very hard to see sometimes."

"W-Well…" Ammon blushed, almost forcing himself to look Amara in the eye. "If you want, whenever you need, I-I could be your eyes."

"Really?" Amara asked hopefully, a blush on her face as well.

"O-Of course!" Ammon smiled and Amara opened her mouth to say something, only for her face to become a tomato color.

"Then… could I be your ears?" Ammon seemed to lean down, with a soft smile, despite his own blush.

"I would love it if you would be my ears, Amara." It was so magical, all Mali could do was stare in shock at just how magical it was.

But then that magic spell was ruined when the click of a photo being taken was heard. All three of them turned to look at Claire, who held her phone and was now doing what one could only describe as fangirling. Ammon and Amara instantly took five VERY big steps back, their faces so red that the color hadn't even been invented yet.

"Claire!" Mali shouted.

"I don't care, that was so cute!" Claire replied, sticking her tongue out as Tyson laughed. Mali turned to the two who couldn't even glance at each other and sighed.

"Just ignore the fangirl queen. I'll take care of her later." She said to the two of them. They nodded mutely. After a few moments of silence Mali sighed.

"Alright, I'm done with the lunch break, who else is?" Joey and Atlas glanced down from their staring contest at the food they still had on the table, and so did Claire, Josephine, and Tyson. Ammon and Amara were the only ones done. "Alright- you two come with me, we'll meet up with the rest of you later."

"Wait-"

"Don't bother." Atlas sighed as Mali led Ammon and Amara away. "Trust me, when it comes to getting people to stop being awkward around each other, It's Mali, and as long as she's alone, everything will be fine."

"You mean she planned that?" Joey asked, surprised.

"No." Claire corrected. "She probably saw something in a store and wanted to try it out. But she never goes alone. If no one was done with lunch, she probably would've waited impatiently for one of us to be done and then drag us off."

"Why wouldn't she go off on her own?" Tyson asked.

"It's dangerous- especially if you're a girl, to wander South Japan all by yourself." Was all that Claire said.

"Oh. Right, I can see that."

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"I know I saw it somewhere…"

"Saw what?" Ammon asked, giving the other a side glance as he looked at some belts. He focused his attention back onto them. Which one would be the best to alter…

"A scarf. I wanna get Christmas gifts for everyone and Claire has that weird love for scarves. There was one that would be absolutely perfect here when we walked past the store earlier…"

"What about this one?" Amara held out an infinity scarf with different shades of purple and blue on it. Mali placed her judgemental eye on it and shook her head.

"Nah, she doesn't have anything that could match that." Mali turned back to the scarf rack and Ammon pulled out a black studded belt and a smaller black belt, observing them closely.

"Then what would match?" Amara asked. Mali paused for a moment, thinking.

"Maybe something green… but it would have to be the right shade, she hates bright colors…"

"Then why not this one?" Mali looked toward Amara again who was holding a nice looking scarf. It was a soft parakeet green color with subtle and small mahogany red details that you wouldn't see unless you looked closely. There were also some pear green aftertones that made the darker green stand out. In short- it was gorgeous.

"That's perfect!" Mali touched the piece of fabric with reverence. "And it's perfect for casual wear. You're amazing Amara!"

"I-It's nothing, I just picked it out." Amara said softly.

"Still, I probably wouldn't have seen it." Mali turned around to look at Ammon. "Do you have what you want?"

"Yeah." He stopped observing the belts. "I have what I wanted."

"Alright- to the next store!" Which was… literally the next store.

"I have no complaints what-so-ever." Amara said as she admired a new game that had come out. "But why are we here?"

"Atlas." Mali said simply, looking through some games. "He's got a collection of gaming figures, and there's one that he really wants… yes!" Mali picked up a small action-figure looking guy who had spirals around the base where he stood. "The Hypnotist!" She checked the price tag. "And I have just enough money! This is perfect!" She rushed to the counter to buy it.

"She actually found it?" Ammon asked a little late as Mali came back humming with a gift bag. "And bought it?"

"Yeah." Amara said after a moment. "I'm glad that she was able to, but I hope she was able to get what she wanted."

"She probably planned ahead and managed to get more money. She does that- plan all year what she's gonna get everyone for christmas, estimates that amount, and then gets it for them." He paused. "Of course she would steal it if she couldn't afford it as long as it was in the store. But if she could buy it, she would."

"So… what do you want for Christmas?" Amara asked.

"Nothing really."

"Oh."

"Except…" He paused, a little embarrassed. "I wouldn't mind able to read my mother's favorite book series. It was lost during the move."

"What is it?"

"Harry Potter." He said.

"Mother said it was really good, but I don't remember ever reading it." Amara commented, almost to herself.

"What about you Amara?"

"Hm?" Amara looked at Mali.

"What do you want for Christmas?"

"Oh, uh…" She blushed, looking down. "It's nothing important."

"No, tell us!" Mali insisted.

"Oh, fine." Amara sighed and mumbled something.

"Sorry, what did you say?" Ammon asked a little bit. When Amara mumbled it again, Ammon decided to sign. :What do you want?: Amara paused, reading the message. She held her hands up hesitantly.

:I want to be able to take my glasses off in front of my friends.: Ignoring Mali's confused look, she focused on Ammon a little more. :I hate how I don't feel comfortable showing my eyes to everyone. I try every year, but I never do it.:

:I wish you the best of luck then, and if you can't, that's okay too.: Ammon signed. Amara smiled.

:Thank you.:

"Ok, what's going on?" Mali asked. "My mom might've taught Ammon, but I have absolutely no idea what's going on."

"Don't worry about it." Ammon turned to Mali. "Is there anyone else you need to shop for?"

"Amara and Joey." Then she snapped her fingers. "Dang, I forgot to ask Joey. Guess I'll do it next time." She looked at Amara again. "What do you want?"

"Whatever you choose to get me is fine." She answered. Mali deflated.

"That's what I'm supposed to say!" She sighed. "Oh well, I'll think of something."

"Come on, I just had a present Idea for Atlas." Ammon said suddenly, leading them away from the store.

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	10. Chapter 10

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With Christmas coming up, all four families came together and decided that, for Christmas Eve, Christmas, and the day after Christmas, they would all spend at Atem and Yugi's house. Including Josephine, Seto, Tristan, and Serenity. Duke and Tea would only be there for the evening of christmas day, seeing as they promised their parents that were still alive to spend the Christmas with them. As such, they hung out and talked in the living room, enjoying the close friendship that they had…

That was completely absent in their own children.

"Look, Amara, there's a mistletoe." Jason said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. "Care to kiss me?" Amara visibly turned green and looked around desperately for help just as Ammon tugged Jason by the back of his jacket and pulled him away with a scowl.

"You wish." He replied, standing in front of Amara. "Besides, you put that there. The only real mistletoe in this household is the one above the door to the master bedroom. This one doesn't count- and guests aren't allowed on the second floor." Jason glared at Ammon and started to say something angrily, but it was at that moment that Ammon's hearing decided to fade out.

He had tried to follow the best he could with lip reading until his hearing could come back, but there was so much spit coming out of his mouth, and with his hearing gone his other senses were heightened naturally, giving him the ability to smell the disgusting breath behind the breath mints.

He scrunched his nose up in disgust and turned around while Jason was still yelling at him, signing to Amara that his hearing was down.

"That's ok." She said slowly, and clear enough for him to read. "Come on, Ammon, I think mother is calling for us." She grabbed his hand and pulled him along, Ammon with a goofy smile on his face. While they went to the living area, they passed the kitchen where Mali was trying to teach Joey and Atlas how to make Christmas cookies.

"It says that we need to put in an egg now…"

"I'll get it!" Joey and Atlas said at the same time, throwing competitive glances at each other before reaching for the eggs while trying to prevent the other from doing so. Mali rolled her eyes at the becoming familiar scene, reaching for an egg herself, causing Joey and Atlas to freeze as she cracked the egg and put it in the mix.

"Bakas." She muttered under her breath with a roll of her eyes, and Joey and Atlas sulked like little kids on either side of her, throwing the occasional glare at each other. "Can't you two work together? There's no competition in helping me make cookies that are for everyone." At Mali's seemingly simple request, Atlas and Joey sized each other up.

Could they work together?

At first, Atlas thought that he would be fine with Mali liking someone else- but someone like Joey? No way in h***.

Joey was thinking along the same lines, and as they stared at each other, Mali added on "I'm seriously starting to think that you two have acquired a mental illness or something. You're both acting younger than you normally act." Both winced, gave eachother a grudging handshake, and turned to help Mali with the cookies…

But only for this once!

Meanwhile, by the Christmas Tree, Tyson was telling Claire one of his family's many traditions.

"Popcorn?" Claire asked with a small laugh. "How would you string popcorn? Wouldn't it just fall off?"

"Not if you do it right!" Tyson said with a finger in the air. "And we also get to open our stockings the night before Christmas- right before we go to bed."

"Doesn't sound like home at all." At Tyson's confused glance, she continued. "At home we had a tree, but it was small. There were only a few ornaments on it- usually made out of wood and hand carved. We normally only got four to five presents every year because Ryou and Malik believed that Christmas shouldn't be stolen, or bought, but made from the heart. We got hand-crafted gifts most of the time, from those who know how to make things, anyway." She fingered a pair of earrings that she wore, that were a deep green color. "Father gave these to me a year ago- he said that they were mother's. She died from the flu when I was a little girl."

"I-I'm sorry." Tyson said slowly, running a hand through his brown-ish red hair.

"Don't worry about it, it was a long time ago." Claire shook her head. "What other traditions do you have?"

"They're all very sweet." Serenity said softly with a smile as she watched Tyson continue to talk to Claire. She leaned into her husband's embrace.

"Well, their mother's were mostly sweet." He said softly as Serenity lifted a mug of hot chocolate to her lips.

"I wish Jason didn't act like that with Amara." Tea commented, shifting from one leg to another. Duke hummed in agreement, his arms around her midsection. "All I wanted was for our children to be friends- I never thought that would lead to this." She turned to look at Yugi, who was sitting comfortably in Atem's lap. "Ammon seems like the right person for Amara, though."

"That's what I keep on telling Atem here." Yugi pointed at her husband as he nuzzled her neck with his nose.

"I am reserving judgement until we can talk one on one." He said seriously. "But I still say that no one is worthy of our daughter." Yugi giggled and rolled her eyes.

"What do you think, Seto?"

"Hnm?"

"About Joey being in love with Mali." Josephine expanded, drawing her husband's attention away from a book he was reading.

"I say that Joey needs to stop acting like his mother and win her over already." Seto said stoically, looking back down at the book in his hands.

"Stop acting like me?" Josephine said, offended. "I'm pretty sure you were the one that needed to man up and make the first move, I was dropping hints all over the place."

"Really?" Seto raised an eyebrow and placed a bookmark in the book before leaning in awfully close to his wife. "I don't seem to remember. Would my pup care to enlighten me?"

"Stupid Dragon." Josephine placed a kiss on his cheek. "That's saved for later."

"I can't wait."

"Ehem." Tea cleared her throat. "Well, I hope it goes well."

"What possessed Joey to offer that anyway?" Tristan asked. "You know, to give them the chance to come here."

"You know, I have no idea." Josephine admitted. She looked toward the kitchen. "He hasn't told me anything, and we haven't asked."

"Well, whatever it is, it was a good thing." Yugi smiled. "Amara has never been so open before…"

"Do you think that she'll be able to take them off?" Atem asked softly. "She's so unique, I wish that she didn't feel the need to hide them."

"Patience, Sennen."

"Don't tell me patience, Kaiba." Atem shot the other a glare. "You're just as bad as me." Seto shrugged.

"Seto, how is Mokuba?" Tea asked.

"He's doing better than I thought he would, working for the Kaiba Corp. Branches outside of Japan." Seto admitted. "I hope he finds someone soon, though. It would be nice to know what it's like to be an uncle."

"Mama, Papa!" Yugi and Atem turned their attention to their twins, who were wearing adorable matching Christmas dresses.

"Amara dragged Ammon off somewhere!" Nour said excitedly.

"Do you think they're going to go on a date?" Keket asked just as eagerly.

"I'm certain that their not going out on a date." Yugi said with a soft smile.

"Awww…"

"Why don't you two go and play with Shizuka and Tiana?" Atem suggested. "I'm sure that they'd love to play with you."

"But their playing dolls!" Keket exclaimed with disgust.

"We wanted to play hide and go seek or tag." Nour said calmly. "But no one wants to play with us!"

"Did you ask?" The two girls sulked, giving their reply. "Why don't you go and ask? I'm sure Amara, Mali, and Ammon would like to."

"Ok, bye mama, papa." They kissed their parent's cheeks and ran off giggling.

"Sometimes your daughters scare me." Serenity admitted.

"They are twins." Tea pointed out, leaning back into her husband's embrace.

"I know, but still."

"Makes me want a boy…" Atem murmured.

"We'll see." Yugi replied. "For now, let's just enjoy the calm and warm atmosphere that we have here."

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	11. Chapter 11

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"Ammon…. Ammon….." Someone poked his shoulder, and considering what day it was, he had a good idea who it was.

"Go away Mali, we don't have to wake up early _every_ Christmas morning." Ammon then proceeded to to make himself more comfortable on the extremely comfy bed. Whoever it was, the person scoffed.

"I'm not Mali." They said in a whisper, just like before. Ammon, wasn't listening anymore, though, content to go back to sleep-

Until the finger started poking him again.

He groaned and turned around to face the person who dared to disturb his sleep, only to see Keket.

"Keket, don't you know how valuable sleep is?" Ammon asked with a yawn, closing his eyes once more. "Us teenagers need at least nine hours of sleep. I'm pretty sure we only got to bed five hours ago…"

"That's what I keep telling Nour." Keket commented, and Ammon hummed in acknowledgement. "But she didn't listen to me. We've already seen the Christmas tree, but we're bored now." Ammon peeked an eye oped to look at Keket, who was looking at him hopefully. "Can you get up and join us please?" Ammon heavily weighed the two options in his head.

Wake up now and keep the twins company, or go back to sleep.

In all honesty, the second option sounded so much better. The beds they had in South Japan and even in the North High dorms weren't as good as these. Not to mention that it was really warm with his body heat and four different blankets...

On the other hand, it probably wouldn't matter. Mali might come in in a little bit and insist he wake up, and he didn't want the girls to wake up Atlas or Claire, who were known to move a lot in their sleep and maybe even punch someone.

"Fine…"

"Yay!" Keket cheered as Ammon moved the blankets off of his body and turned on the lamp by his bed. He then chose the blanket he had brought with him to North Japan from South Japan and slipped on some black slippers by his bed. All the while Keket was talking his ear off about something or the other, and all Ammon could do at the moment was hum in acknowledgement.

When he got downstairs, he was shocked that Nour hadn't gotten out the toy guns and stuff. Instead, he was almost pleased to find that there was a pile of blankets and pillows.

"What are we doing?" He asked, vaguely aware that Keket hadn't said anything of the sort about what they were doing.

"Building the christmas family fort!" Nour explained. "Normally Amara would help us-"

"But you're apart of the family now! Mama said so!" Keket added.

"So we decided that you could build it with us this year!" They said in unison. Ammon smiled a little. Was he really considered part of the family?

Maybe he'd forgive the two for his lack of sleep just this once…

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Amara twisted and turned in bed, trying to go to sleep, but unable to.

Why?

Well, usually about now, Nour and Keket would come in to wake her up to help them build the family fort, a tradition that had started ever since Amara had become obsessed with blanket forts as a little girl.

To not be woken up… it was worrying.

So she got out of bed, hugged two blankets around her figure, and walked down to the living area.

And saw the cutest thing on earth.

"Oh, my, gosh." She whispered at what was probably the biggest family fort ever in the history of family forts (she should know, she had been there for each and every one). The style of a fortress of sorts showed that Keket and Nour definitely had their way with how the fort was built, whereas Amara usually ended up building a tent-like fort. Giggles were coming from inside, and Amara knew that in order for one this big to happen, the twins had to have woken up someone a little taller than her dad.

The entrance was marked with two chairs and three pillows, the blankets parted wide and lights coming from flashlights and lamps inside. She crawled in and looked around at the spacious fort that also seemed to have been separated into three rooms- the entry, the comfy, and what looked to be a snacks area (where they had taken a coffee table for). In the entry area, Keket was attempting to teach Ammon how to do a french braid as Nour demonstrated on one of her own dolls as an example for Ammon to follow. Ammon's hair seemed to be untouched, and Keket's hair was in a loose braid.

Amara giggled quietly and stood up, walking in further and gaining Keket's attention.

"Amara!" She said happily. "We're teaching your boyfriend how to do hair!" Ammon flushed a sputtered as Amara flushed as well, stuttering and attempting to take it back. "Why don't you help!"

"O-Oh, fine." Amara walked over and sat beside Ammon to help him with the french braid, and when they were done, she asked. "You guys built all this?"

"Yeah!"

"Ammon was a great help, he's good at building stuff!" Nour said happily. "Just think about mama and papa's faces when they see this!"

"I'm sorry." Amara said quietly to Ammon as the twins started going off about how amazing the fort was. "They woke you up and I know how important sleep is to you-"

"It's fine." Ammon smiled, shifting a bit. "They woke me up because they had heard from your mother that I was a part of the family now." He smiled at seemingly no one, but Amara knew it was for her. "I'm glad I'm considered a part of it."

"Yeah." Amara yawned.

"I'm guessing you didn't get a good little sleep." Amara laughed at Ammon's correct assumption.

"Yeah. After hair-dos we usually do whatever we want. I normally go back to sleep." She looked up at Ammon, but Ammon didn't look back down at her. "Is something wrong?"

"W-Well…" Ammon blushed, looking away from her. "I-I want to respect your privacy-"

"Stay."

"N-Not that, but…" He paused. "You're not wearing your glasses." Amara froze.

That's right. They were on her nightstand in her room- the pair that Ammon had given her.

"D-Do you want to see?" She asked.

"Yes." He said instantly. "But, I want you to want it and not me find out on accident." Amara moved so that she was in front of Ammon.

"Th-Then open your eyes." Amara didn't know where the twins went- probably to eat sweets and get hot chocolate. She hoped they'd stay here. "B-Because I want you to see." Ammon slowly turned his head to look her in her eyes…

And stared.

Amara fidgeted a bit, but didn't look away from Ammon's green eyes. It was at that very moment, that Ammon knew that he had fallen deep. And now, he had fallen twice as much as he had before- for the kind, beautiful, wonderful, amazing girl in front of him.

She was right when she said that her eyes were different.

The one on her right was a crimson red color with small hints of purple here and there, but the one on her left was Amythest with small hints of red. He found himself staring into them for a long time before realizing that she was waiting for a response.

He couldn't control himself when he spoke.

"Beautiful." Amara almost jumped at the unexpected noise.

"...What?"

"Y-You're eyes." His face blossomed in immense heat and red color. "They're beautiful."

"Really?" Amara asked.

"O-Of course!" Ammon said. "With the way both colors are a little mixed in with each other- it's really enchanting." He flushed redder than he thought possible and Amara quickly joined him.

"O-o-oh, thanks."

"N-No pr-problem, thank y-you for sh-showing me!"

"Thank you for staying." Amara smiled at him and sat down beside him again.

"Y-You know, if we're going to lounge, we should go to the lounging area." He said after a moment.

"Y-Yeah." Amara said as they both stood up. "Lounging sounds fun."

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	12. Chapter 12

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Amara groaned and shifted closer to the warmth beside her, trying to ignore the giggles.

"For the last time, Nour, Keket, us teenagers need at least nine hours of sleep." A voice, sounding just as tired as she felt, mumbled. She was pulled closer to something while the voice spoke. "I'm sure there's a game that you two haven't played yet…" Feet shuffling around was heard, and Amara began to fall back to sleep, thanking the voice. She sighed contently, relaxing against the warmth beside her.

That was, until someone decided to put the smell of hot chocolate by her face.

Her stomach growled, and she reluctantly woke up in response, becoming aware that she was not in her bed.

Last thing she remembered, she and Ammon had just gotten back from getting her sunglasses for when she woke up in the morning. Afterwards, they been talking about a game of sorts they had both played while laying down next to each other. Keket and Nour had only woken them up once, trying to get them to play a videogame, but they had both declined… and they both had their backs to each other…

Her eyes snapped open, only coming to the conclusion that both her and Ammon had turned on their sides at night, seeing as her nose was only an inch away from his chest. She looked down at her hands, which had found themselves holding on gently to Ammon's blue pajama shirt. She looked up and found that his head wasn't that far away from hers. In fact, now that she had looked up, their noses were almost touching.

Her face exploded in heat and she turned to look at the culprit who had found them in this… intimate position, only to see Mali, Claire, Nour, Keket, and her own mother.

"Amara?" Yugi asked with an innocent look, though it was anything but. "Is there something you're not telling me?" Amara panicked and felt around for her glasses before putting them on her face. Then she turned back to Ammon, who was still sleeping.

"A-Ammon." Amara whispered. She poked him in the chest a few times, not breaking eye contact with her mother, who's innocent face was replaced by a smirk. Claire took another photo. "A-Ammon!"

"Hmn?" Ammon shifted a bit, holding Amara close.

"W-We need to wake up! Ammon!" She hissed.

"I don't want to." Ammon half whined, holding Amara closer. Amara dared to look away from her mother and back up at Ammon. Their noses were only a decimeter apart. She blushed.

"Ammon!" She said louder. "Please, wake up. Ammon!" She pleaded. Ammon sighed and finally opened his eyes. He blinked sleepily a few times before it seemed to click in his head.

"MOTHER OF-!"

"Ammon, not so loud!" Amara hissed as Ammon let go of her.

"Ohmygosh, I'm sosososososooooo sorry Amara, I didn't- I-I don't-"

"Ammon- I need you to calm down." Amara grabbed his hands. "Uh… we have a problem."

"Wh-what's th-that?" Ammon asked. His face was red enough- what was the problem?! WHAT COULD BE WORSE THAN ACCIDENTALLY CUDDLING WITH THE GIRL YOU LIKE THAT PROBABLY LIKES SOMEONE ELSE AND NOT YOU?!

"Uh… Mali, Claire, and my mom are here."

OH SHI-

"Does anyone want Hot Chocolate?" Mali asked, ignoring Yugi's knowing look and Claire's picture taking. "Ammon, why don't you come with me?"

"S-sure, Mali." Ammon and Amara moved so that he could get up.

"Amara, do you want to come with us?" Mali asked after a moment.

"N-Nah, I think I'll talk to my mother." She said after a moment, her eyes once again locked on her mother.

"Can I-"

"No, Claire." Mali said instantly, and Claire sulked. "Come on Ammon- Hot Chocolate for everyone, right?" Everyone nodded and the two of them left, leaving Amara and her mother to talk while Claire walked out to find the twins.

"Mom, I can explain-"

"I wanna hear the whole thing- but first, let's sit." Amara nodded and tried to look professional, but knew that it wouldn't work.

He mother was the Queen of games, after all.

"S-So, Keket and Nour woke Ammon up this morning to make the family fort and all, because you said that he was apart of our family now, and they wanted to include him on traditions. Then I woke up and came out and-"

"You showed Ammon your eyes and fell asleep next to each other- I know. We have security cameras in this house you know." Amara flushed and Yugi laughed. "I just want you to know that If anything happens while you two are-"

"MAMA!"

"But we need to talk about this." Yugi said seriously. "And Atem needs to talk to Ammon now to discuss how he will take care of you-"

"But Mama, it's Christmas! And we're not even dating!" Amara whinned.

"Of course, I'm not that mean darling." Yugi laughed. "Why don't we go and wake everyone else up?"

"Fine."

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	13. Chapter 13

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The incident that happened that morning wasn't brought up again. After Ammon apologized to Amara multiple times, they all got to work on making a Christmas Brunch for those who were still asleep. As soon as everyone was done eating and fully awake, they gathered around the Christmas tree for presents.

Amara had managed to get a hold on the whole Harry Potter book and movie series, and Amara said that they could watch it together if they wanted to. Meanwhile, Ammon had gotten Amara a better set of sunglasses that Atlas had helped him out with so that Amara could see better, but still hide her eyes.

Mali had gotten Joey a pocket knife after hearing the boy explain just what he wanted in it. Both he and Atlas were ecstatic about the gifts she had given them, and had both given her two equally amazing gifts… though she was still questioning their sanity. Joey had gotten her some Duel Monster booster packs, and Atlas had gotten her a stuffed petit dragon (her favorite out of all of the cute ones). The presents were nice… but it was the fact that they seemed to be competing for the best reaction out of her that made her worry.

Tyson got Claire a handmade scarf, and Claire had gotten Tyson an emoji pillow (he seemed obsessed with the things, from what Mali heard). There was only one more notable gift after that, and it was to Atem.

From Ammon.

Atem raised an eyebrow at the nervous young man sitting by his daughter.

"W-Well, father told me that he had once broken something of value to you that was sorta made and given to you by Yugi." He said, twiddling his thumbs, but not looking away from Atem. "A-And I-I thought that I'd r-right it, s-seeing as I've never seen you wear something like it…" Ammon swallowed nervously and Amara gave him a curious look. He had gotten a gift for her father? When?

Atem raised a critical eyebrow, almost confused, before taking off the wrapping and opening the box. His eyes widened at what lay inside.

"How?"

"W-Well, I had to learn how to sew down in South Japan, and clearly I bought them separately. I'm not all that good at it-"

"Yugi…" Atem swallowed, seemingly lost for words. Yugi stopped taking pictures of Keket and Nour in matching pajamas opening their gifts and turned to look at Atem's present. She gasped.

"Is it…"

"It is." Atem touched whatever was inside the box carefully. He looked back up at Ammon and stood up. "Ammon, may I talk to you?"

"O-o-of course!" Ammon cleared his throat and stood up, following after Atem and into another room.

"Mama, I'm confused." Amara walked over to her mother, who seemed pleased, but still shocked. "What did Ammon get Papa?"

"Amara…" Yugi smiled at her daughter. "Do you remember that one story I told you? About how you're father's favorite accessory broke, and how I made him a new one just like the old one?"

"You mean the double belt, where part of it hung on your leg, and that there was a deck pouch on one side?"

"Yes." Yugi sighed. "Well, the one that I had made only lasted for a year before being broken beyond fixing. Your father and I had searched for a long time for something else, but when Japan fell we stopped looking, and after that we kinda forgot about it."

"And what you're saying is?"

"Amara… Ammon found a way to make your father's favorite accessory." It was then that Ammon and Atem walked out of the room, Ammon holding something in awe in his hand, and Atem wearing a very proud smile.

"Remember what I told you." He said. "You're a part of the family now."

"Y-Yes sir." Ammon said, before looking at Atem. "Th-Thank you!"

"It is I who should be thanking you." Atem gave Ammon a pat on the shoulder, and held his box up. "I'm going to go upstairs and change. Why don't you hang out here?"

"Y-Y-Yeah, s-sure."

"What did he give you?" Mali asked curiously. "And what did you give him?"

"A double belt." Ammon said softly. "I gave him a replacement from the one dad broke, and…"

"And?"

"H-He gave me something." Ammon blushed heavily as Amara walked over, stuffing whatever it was in his pants pocket as Amara walked over.

"You know, that was very sweet of you." She said. "You didn't have to do that."

"I-I wanted to though." He admitted. "I-It's kinda intimidating, living in the same house as your father's sworn enemy." he laughed nervously. "That story kinda stood out from my memories, and I figured that I'd fix it using that. I-I never thought that he'd actually welcome me to the family the way he did…"

"How did he?" Mali asked. Ammon reached into the pocket he hadn't placed whatever it was in, and pulled out a duel monsters card.

It was Slifer the Sky Dragon.

"What?!" Mali gasped as Amara just stared. "No way. He didn't."

"H-He did." Ammon swallowed, placing it back in his pocket. "If you don't mind, I'm gonna go in the fort and come back out later." He moved to do so, and Mali rubbed her eyes in utter shock.

"I-I've never seen one of the fabled god cards before." She said. "Dang, if his father saw, he would be so jealous."

"Father never told me he still had them. I only ever heard stories about him using them in friendly battles long, long ago." Amara replied, just as stunned. Then, she smiled. "Father's approved."

"What?"

"Oh, nothing, let's just get on with the party."

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	14. Chapter 14

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Christmas break over, back to school they went, and they were all cramming for the end of year exams. Mali found herself studying with Joey and Atlas often- the two were practically fighting over studying with her.

It was annoying, yet endearing at the same time.

She wanted her best friends to get along! She couldn't understand why they were acting this way.

So, she convinced the two to join her for a study practice, and bring up the topic there.

"You can use synthetic division for that, Mali." Atlas pointed out as she stared at the problem in complete concentration. Joey looked over her shoulder as well and nodded.

"Yup. Atlas's right."

"I can't concentrate." Mali decided finally, pushing her late math homework away.

"What?" The two said at the same time. "Why?"

"Well, it's been bothering me for a while now, and I'm finally going to bring it up because if I don't then I'm probably going to tear all of my hair out!" The two blinked at her, and then glanced at each other curiously.

"What is it Mali?" Atlas asked.

"Whatever it is, I'm sure we'll be able to help you with it." Joey added on. Mali groaned.

"Ok, I want to know why you two are always fighting over me!" She exclaimed, frustrated. "You're always sending glares at each other behind my back, or challenging each other, or trying to help me first, or-"

"You mean, you don't know?" Joey asked as Atlas laughed a bit.

"Know what?"

"Joey, Mali's always has had a blind eye to this sort of thing." Atlas explained. "But I never thought that it would be this bad."

"Just tell me already!"

"Mali, we like you." They said again in sync.

"Of course you do, you're my friends! That still doesn't mean that-"

"No, Mali." Atlas leaned in to whisper into her ear. "That's not the type of like we're talking about."

"Then what type of like?" Mali asked, looking at her childhood friend. Annoyed, Atlas facepalmed.

"Mali, I think the word we should've used is love." Joey admitted, casually leaning back in his chair, placing his arms behind his head in a casual manner, smirking and winking at her. Atlas suddenly smirked and used his foot to make Joey fall over as Mali stared at the blonde in shock.

"What?!"

"Yeah." Atlas continued, ignoring Joey glaring at him from the floor. "That's the word. Love."

"WHAT?!"

"Well, I wasn't going to do anything until I noticed that he had a crush on you." Joey said, pointing his thumb at Atlas as he sat up. Atlas scowled.

"I was completely fine with you going out with someone else- that I know. This guy's a stranger." Atlas jerked his thumb back at Joey as he corrected his chair and sat in it again.

" _WHAT?!"_ Mali exclaimed again.

"You seriously didn't notice?" Joey asked.

"Mali's always been oblivious to her fan club, Joey." Atlas answered. "It's no surprise that she had no idea about ours."

"You know what, I-I think that I need to go and splash my face with water." She paused as she stood up. "And talk to Claire. And Amara."

"Are you ok, Mali?" They asked again at the same time, and Mali just wanted to smack them senseless.

"Oh, fine, I'm just fine!" She breathed an airy laugh, face extremely red. "Just learned that my two best guy friends actually like me and have been fighting over me this whole time! Yeah, just peachy- I'm gonna go now!" And she booked it to her dorms.

"We're in trouble, aren't we?" Joey asked after a moment.

"Yeah, probably should've just left her in the dark."

"What, are you scared that she'd choose me over you?"

"Ha, as if, we've both been friendzoned twice in this study session alone, fifteen times today, and a hundred and seventeen times in the last week." Atlas scoffed. "She's never even seen us in that light before. Besides, she _is_ bisexual, so-"

"Wait, she's what?" Joey asked, and Atlas rubbed his temples.

"This is why I hate you."

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Mali threw the door open to her dorms, mind still trying to recover from the shock. She Slammed the door behind her, locked it, placed a chair in front of it, and then finally turned to face Amara and Claire, who had been having their own study session.

"Mali?" Claire asked. "Is everything ok? You don't look so well."

"Please tell me you didn't know."

"Didn't know what?"

"That the reason why Joey and Atlas have been fighting over me was because they both like like LIKE me." She threw herself onto her bed when Claire threw her a knowing smile. "UGGGG, KILL ME NOW!"

"Mali, calm down." Amara got up and sat on the end of Mali's bed, rubbing the other's back soothingly. "You'll want to be calm to think about this."

"I'm the worst person ever!"

"Now, how's that possible?" Claire asked from her bed. Mali's face was shoved into her pillow.

"I totally friend zoned both of them twice while they were trying to explain it to me." She lifted her head off of the pillow only to slam it back down once she was done speaking. "Just kill me now!'

"Sorry, I don't think we can do that."

"Mali, do you want anything?" Amara asked after a moment. "Food, drinks, anything. We can go out now and get them, come back here, and help you through this."

"I want to hide in a hole and stay there." Mali said dryly, but after a moment, she continued. "And some cookie dough ice cream."

"I'm not sure about the hole, but I do know that we can get you ice cream." Amara stood up. "I'll go and get it. Then we can talk this out and help you."

"Thanks." No one said anything for several moments as Mali lay there, mentally berating herself over not figuring it out sooner. Claire got up and locked the dorm so that only people with a key (the had given one to Amara a while ago) could get in. Then she walked over to Mali and sta down on the bed opposite of hers.

"You know, it's kinda funny." Claire commented, ignoring the glare Mali threw at her. "You are usually the first to figure out that someone likes someone else, but when it comes down to people liking you, It's like it's invisible."

"How do you know that?" Mali asked. "The only two who are interested in me are Joey and Atlas."

"Not exactly- why do you think so many boys wanted to help you out and be your friend back in South Domino?" Claire asked. "They all wanted to ask you out, but in the end they decided that your friendship with them was something that they couldn't lose because it was so precious. I think they even had their own little fanclub."

"I'm such a horrible person!" Mali exclaimed. "All of those people wanted to date me and I _didn't notice?!"_

"Nah, you're just blind to those things- it's natural! Why else would Amara and Ammon not be together right now? They're too blind to see the other's interest in them." Mali sat up and thought about it for a bit.

"I… guess you're right." She said slowly, but she didn't sound sure. She was having trouble grasping the fact that such a thing could happen. "But why?"

"Why what?"

"Why fall for me, of all people?" Mali elaborated, turning over so that she was lying with her back on her bed, arms thrown toward the ceiling dramatically before falling to her side by the bed. "That would make things simpler- I don't want to choose between the two, and their both my friends- nothing more."

"I think you need to double check your feelings on that subject."

"What? You think I don't know my feelings?"

"No, I'm saying that you should think on everything that happened today- deeper than you've ever thought of anything in the whole world- for several days- if not, then weeks- on the subject before you decide that you both only like them as friends. The heart is a fragile thing, and you just guessing that you like both of them as friends, tell them now, and then admit that you actually liked one of them later on- that would just hurt them. A lot."

"Since when did you become the adviser on romantic stuff?"

"Since the first guy that ever liked you." Claire shrugged.

"Nah, that's not possible."

"You're right- but I definitely became an expert from your fan club down in South Japan." Mali groaned, grabbed one of the pillows from beside her, and smashed it onto her face.

"I'm such an idiot."

"I can't disagree there."

"Aren't you supposed to be helping me?"

"Eh, I'm either or at the moment." Claire smirked and dodged the pillow Mali threw at her. "Hey, Hey, I'm your best friend!"

"Well, I'm mad at you so deal with it."

"Oh, come on, you can't be mad at me for deciding that I would be neutral!" Claire exclaimed. "I mean, seriously-" The door opened, revealing Amara backing into the room with some of the ice cream- three different flavors."

"I figured a variety might be best." Amara explained at the weird look Claire was giving her, completely ignoring Mali's star-struck look. "Especially if this is going to be happening more often. Besides- you were running out." She gestured to the mini fridge that was normally stocked with chocolate, soda, or ice cream. Claire remembered Mali complaining about the lack of ice cream in there yesterday.

"Ah, right."

"So, who wants what?"

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	15. Chapter 15

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"Dude, go for it."

"Nope. Not possible. She'd kill me before I even asked."

"Didn't you say that her father approved of you?"

"Yeah…" Ammon pulled out a cartouche- the one that Atem had given him while they were away from everyone, and the one that he had kept hidden from Amara. Tyson had (somehow) been able to explain that it was tradition in Amara's family to give the Cartouche to someone they approved of for their child. The cartouche was to be given to the child when the person asked them for a first date. That way, they would know that their parents had approved of them dating that person. Then, when they were engaged (if that was to be), the child would give it back to them with their name carved on it. On the day of the wedding, they would exchange rings, and they would give the child a cartouche with their own name carved on it.

It was a bit confusing when Atem first explained it to him, but now that Tyson had explained it more in depth, he was scared beyond belief.

Atem had given him permission to ask Amara out- but he had no idea how Amara would ask.

"But, what if she doesn't see me that way?" He asked finally. "What if I end up like Joey and Atlas?" Hence, the reason why he was talking to Tyson of all people. He was a lot less confusing to be around, and Atlas and Joey would just tease him anyway.

"Tell you what." Tyson sighed, a blush covering his cheeks. "We go on a hang out- just you me and Claire." He held up a finger when Ammon was about to interrupt. "Not a date or anything- just four friends, hanging out. I'll figure out what I can, and I want you to be aware of how Amara acts around you- and maybe even drop a few hints and ask Claire a few things. I'm not promising anything though."

"Would that work?" Ammon muttered, twirling the cartouche with his hands. "I don't even know how to drop hints. Or flirt. Or anything."

"Yes, you do know anything." Tyson rolled his eyes. "Let's just follow through with this plan- tomorrow we can go through with asking them about what they're doing saturday. I've been meaning to show Claire a new place I found anyway."

"I wonder if you would be able to ask Claire about it without stuttering." Ammon smirked at Tyson's flustered face.

"We're just friends." He said, but it sounded like even he didn't believe himself.

"Whatever you say." Ammon put the cartouche back into his pocket and sat up, looking across the study table at Tyson. "Let's go over the details on this 'not a date' anyway. Don't want to seem unprepared." Tyson nodded in agreement, their homework completely forgotten.

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"S-So, uh, how are we going to go about this?" Tyson asked, suddenly a lot less confident now that it was time to bring up the idea. They two were hiding behind a pillar as Claire, Mali, and Amara laughed in the courtyard- on a bench under one of the trees. Ammon looked at him with wide eyes- comically so for him.

"Wait- you mean you _don't know?!_ "

"Hey- it's easier to say than do!" Tyson made a few frustrated movements with his arms.

"How are we supposed to do this if we can't even pull out the courage to ask them to hang out with us?!"

"Well, you wanted to ask her by Valentine's, right?" Tyson asked. "So, let's go out there together and ask both of them at the same time- because if we don't ask them now it'll be weirder than when we do it on Valentines!"

"Wait- you're going to ask Claire out?" Ammon asked. Tyson gagged, eyes wide and face flushed as he realized that _holy s*** he just said that!_

"If-If this hang out goes well." He brushed off, before turning the topic away from him. "Let's just focus on asking them."

"R-Right." Ammon cleared his throat, his blush growing to his cheeks. "Let's go together." They both marched out from behind the pillar and began to head towards the two girls.

"Oh, Hi Tyson, Ammon!" Mali said loudly, and the two girls beside her stiffened. "Do you need anything?"

"Uh- Yeah!" Tyson nodded.

"We- uh- wanted to ask Amara and Claire, uh-"

"If you guys wanted to come with us to a cool place I found!"

"Y-Yeah, it's an arcade and we wanted to bring you two along-"

"If you wanted to, of course! W-We wouldn't force it upon you-"

"We were hoping this saturday would be okay-"

"And maybe start around two in the afternoon?"

"Of course- only if you want to-"

"And if you have the time-"

"And we totally would understand if you wouldn't-"

"We just wanted to ask you and-"

"Woah, calm down you two!" Mali interrupted them, seeing as Claire and Amara were staring at the two boys with wide eyes. "So you're basically asking Amara and Claire to go and hang out at an arcade with you starting a two in the afternoon on Saturday, which is two days away?" She summed up.

"Y-Yeah!"

"That's what we wanted to ask!"

"Of course we'll go!" Claire seemed to recover first, smiling and nudging Amara a bit, snapping the other out of her shock.

"Y-Yeah! It'll be loads of fun!"

"Great!" Tyson said loudly in a sorta-high voice. Then he cleared his throat as Ammon spoke.

"W-We'll pick you up then."

"Y-Yeah!"

"See you Saturday!"

"Bye!" The two boys walked away, and Mali began to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Claire asked at the same time Amara began to panic.

"Oh my gosh- What am I going to wear how am I going to act- doesthiscountasadate? Whatifitsnotadatebutwhatifittotallyisthereisnowaythatimgoingtosurvivethis-"

"We just talked about who would you ask out on a date if you had to choose, and the two boys you chose just asked you out on what's basically a double date!"

"Tyson is just a friend! He doesn't like me like that!"

"OHMYGOSHTHEYTOTALLYDIDJUSTASKUSOUTONADOUBLEDATE! WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?!"

"Look me in the eye and tell me that you don't like him that way."

"I do like him that way- but that doesn't mean that he likes me that way!"

"MALI,CLAIRE,YOUHAVETOHELPMESOTHATIDON'TEMBARESSMYSELFINFRONTOFAMMON!" Amara grabbed her two friends and shook them hysterically.

"Fine- I'll help BOTH of you- you just have to relax for a moment!"

"THANK YOU!"

"And I'm telling you he doesn't like me like that!"

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End file.
